The Firefly Captain
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: "Until we find our place on the path unwinding." Firefly/The Lion King AU developed through conversations with my friend Brit. Please read my author's note/disclaimer at the start. All main characters will appear, some right away, others not until the second half.
1. Chapter 1

**I really don't even remember **_**how **_**this came up, honestly, but at some point this fall, conversations with my friend Brit and I led to me starting to outline a Firefly/Lion King AU. It's been fun, but it's also been tough. I really haven't written Firefly at all – and I've never written for The Lion King – so trying to blend the personalities of the characters so both of them show up, while trying to stay true to important characterization/motivations in Firefly while telling the story of The Lion King was a tall order for me. It also pained me to not be able to put Wash and Zoe together. But as much as I adore Wash, there were many reasons why I didn't feel he was Mufasa, and Zoe Brit and I both felt would be a great Sarabi.**

**This fic will follow the storyline of The Lion King and Simba's Pride. Some events may occur in an unfamiliar order. Some characters (cough Zoe cough) will have a larger part in the fic than the respective Lion King character, especially if I felt the character (cough Sarabi cough) didn't have enough screen time in the actual movie. I also take a few liberties with the technology on Serenity.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly nor The Lion King. And I apologize for the long A/N.**

* * *

_Here's how it is._

_We got this business driven government system, the Alliance. The Alliance is driven by greed and breaks its own rules when convenient, but don't say that to its face. They don't much care about those of us that live beyond the core, but the feeling is mutual. Out in the black, we get by on our own. Those of us with ships carry others between homes, between jobs. Some of us have been protecting smaller vessles for generations. I'm Derrial Book, fifth generation captain of _Serenity._ She's a transport ship, Firefly class. We've got a couple dozen on board, some temporary; others are permanent, like my pilot, an old mechanic. There's also an apprentice from the core, sent here to learn some responsibility 'fore he inherits his parents' fortune on Persephone. We also have a young cook, and a Companion and her new baby. There's another infant on board, too, a boy. His name is Malcolm Reynolds, and he's my son._

* * *

Wash tapped his finger on the console impatiently. He knew the apprentice was in his room; if he'd come out at all today, the Captain wouldn't be so angry. "Gorramit, answer."

Finally the screen flickered and a face appeared. "What is it, Wash?"

The voice sounded impatient, the typical _I'm bored by you _attitude that the apprentice usually gave the ship's pilot. "I've been told to inform you that Captain Book is on his way to your shuttle. He's madder than a crossed Niska. You'd better have a good excuse for not being present in the wave this morning." Wash paused, hearing a knocking through the wave. "That must be him now. I'd advise you to answer the door, and be polite."

* * *

The man on the other side raised his eyebrows slightly. "Hmmm," was the dismissive response. Turning – forgetting to end the wave – the young man walked lazily to the door and opened it. "Well, if it isn't the Captain, looking to grace the disgraced apprentice with his exhausted presence."

"No one is disgracing you, Atherton," Book said kindly, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "My concern at the moment is why you weren't part of the wave presentation of my son this morning. All three dozen ships and shuttles under our protection were watching. I'm sure they noted your absence."

"Oh," Atherton said. "That was today? I apologize. It's been a rough week for me, you understand. I am no longer first in line to captain this ship."

"I am the fifth to captain Serenity as a protective ship," Book said. "My great-great…"

"Grandfather, your great grandmother, your grandfather, your father, and now you," Atherton said. "You've mentioned it once or twice."

"Then you know," Book said. "You always knew. If Zoe and I were to have a child, he or she would be the next captain of Serenity. Not showing up to the wave is a sign of disrespect, and sadness over the inevitable is no excuse."

"Would it help terribly if I visited the boy and curtsied?" Atherton asked, bending a knee slightly in example. "You know my family provided you with funds when I came to stay here. Many of _Serenity's_ inner workings are paid for by the Wings. I've got a legitimate claim to this ship and…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. "Is that a challenge?" Book asked fiercely, his jaw set.

"Oh, temper," Atherton said. "How would I possibly challenge you? You with your...son."

"Don't entertain that thought," Book said in warning. "It would not end well for you. You are treated quite well here. Don't blow it out of greed."

Atherton set his jaw. "Understood, Captain."

As Book left, Wash ended the wave, shaking his head.

* * *

"What are you going to do with _him_?" Wash said as the captain came up to the bridge. "He thinks he's going to start some sort of uprising? Take over the ship?"

"I wouldn't worry about him," Book said. "When Malcolm comes of age, Atherton will return to Persephone and his parents or find another ship to captain. And if he does do that, I can't imagine he would be all that successful. He's too selfish. And as the Romans said, 'but for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger'."

"There's one in every group of people," Wash said, nodding. He raised an eyebrow. "Two in mine, actually. So, if I may change the subject, how's the Companion's child?"

"Well," Book said. "Got a lot more hair than Malcolm, I've noticed. And he's the louder of the two."

"Is the good woman going to stay around? It might be nice if she does. She's quite nice."

"Oh, I think she will. She'll need a unit to watch the girl while she works. And it will be nice for Malcolm to have a friend and playmate."

"You don't want him growing up admiring Atherton Wing? I gotta say, I usually agree with you, but this…"

Book smirked in Wash's direction as he left the bridge.

**Hope that wasn't too horrid for y'all to sit through! It gets much more interesting (in my opinion) as the story goes on - as it does in the movie.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the reviews this fic has gotten so far! Here's the next chapter. **

Mal loved taking the stairs two at a time. He got where he needed to go quicker, and when his pa would take every other step, he looked really important and deliberate and it was only right that he looked that way. He was captain of this boat, and one day, Mal would take his place.

But he couldn't be captain if he didn't know what sort of things his father did. And when the old mechanic, Tian, had told him his father was about to depart the ship for the marketplace, Mal was determined to go along. He tried taking the final stairs three at a time and landed awkwardly, tripping over his own feet and landing on Serenity's cold floor with a thud, rolling over onto his back and shaking his head.

"How very smooth of you, Malcolm Reynolds," the young cook said, raising an eyebrow as she stepped lightly over him. "You'll make a very fine captain indeed."

"I will," he said. "I reckon I'll be as good a captain as there ever was!"

The redhead gave an amused smile. "I'm sure you will be."

Mal jumped to his feet, looking around. His mother was nowhere in sight – she was probably in the engine room talking to Tian, or bringing breakfast to Shuttle One. When she didn't have to fight to protect anyone under Serenity's protection, she did her best to make the passengers and permanent population feel welcome and at home.

Despite not being able to locate Zoe, Mal _did_ see that Serenity's ramp was down – and his father walking just yards beyond it. "Pa!" Mal called, running forward, down the ramp, and into the dirt. "Pa!"

His father turned around. "What are you doing, son?"

"I want to come with you! I want to see what you do."

"I don't know if today is the best…"

Mal frowned. "You promised!"

Book sighed. "Okay, you can come. But stay by me. Not everyone on this planet needs our help. Or wants it. Or wants us to be here at all."

"Why wouldn't people want us here?" Mal said. "You're captain of a Firefly!"

His enthusiasm brought a smile from Book. "I'm not King of the 'verse, son," he said. "Serenity is a small part of the networking system that makes up the world we live in. We're all connected somehow – by blood, by trade, by the people we meet. Everyone has his or her own place. My job is to provide shelter for travelers, new settlers. Some of them need passage on our ship. Others need to be with a larger ship to make it through deep space. You've seen many come and go these past ten years. Serenity is important to many on the edge of the core and beyond. She's seen as a refuge, a place of hope. And it's the responsible, empathetic care that they have received from Serenity over the years that keeps them coming back. When you're captain, your job will be maintaining all of that."

Mal frowned. "I thought a ship's captain could fly anywhere anytime he wanted."

"There's more to it than that," his father said. "True power and maturity isn't going anywhere you want to because you can. True power, true maturity is choosing to go someplace responsible when you could have gone somewhere else that was perhaps more to your liking."

Mal nodded, his eyes wandering. To his left was a busy market place. To his right, poor people working in fields. Just beyond that, a dark field that looked to have machine parts in it. It seemed a lot more appealing than crowds. "Can we go over there?"

Book looked over where Mal was pointing. "No, Mal. That's where wounded ships land that can't afford to buy new parts. It's too dangerous to go there."

"Have you ever gone there?" Mal's father hesitated, and the boy raised his eyebrows. "You have!"

"Mal!"

Father and son turned. Wash was riding up on a small hovering motorcycle. "Mal, your mother is looking for you. Captain, the cook has requested…" he pulled out a piece of paper… "that she be given the funds for a new colander. The old one just can't take the strain anymore. Tian's rechargeable batteries are currently revolting, but…"

Mal looked at the bumper on Wash's vehicle and cocked his head. Reaching into his belt, he removed the dart gun that his mother had gotten him for his eleventh birthday. Holding it at his hip, he fired, aiming at the bumper. The dart hit the sand several feet from the bumper.

"The new passengers are concerned…"

"Mal, don't shoot at Wash."

"It's just a dart gun!" Mal protested.

"What?" Wash asked.

"Nothing," Book said. "What about Le?"

Wash continued talking. "You want to make sure when you fire, you don't let the gun jerk," Book said quietly to Mal. "That will throw off the aim. You have to hold it steady."

"Hold it steady," Mal said. "Holdin' it steady." He was thrilled his father seemed to be less upset about him getting the gun than he was on his birthday. He could still hear him asking his mother _you couldn't have gotten him one that's made for kids?_

"Good," Book said. "Now be discreet…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Wash asked, cocking his head.

There was a popping sound, then the transport, listed sharply to one side. Wash, not on guard, slid off into the dust. Mal ran over and jumped on him. "Gotcha!"

Book was laughing and clapping his hands. "_Very_ good."

Wash rose to his feet and picked Mal up. "Your _mother_ is looking for you," he repeated.

"Go with Wash," Book said, smiling. "Be kind to him."

"Sure thing, Dad," Mal said, settling in front of Wash on the bike. Book smiled and headed toward the market.

* * *

"Atherton!" Mal said, running up to the apprentice.

Atherton turned from where he was studying a chart. "Oh, it's little Mal."

"My pa just told me all the captainy things he does. And guess what?"

Atherton's expression didn't change. "I despise guessing games."

Mal tugged on the man's jacket. "One day, that's gonna be me! I'm going to captain this Firefly and be in charge of all these people!"

"Goody."

"Will I be in charge of you?" Mal asked, cocking his head curiously.

"I suppose you will," Atherton said, forcing a smile. "Did your father take you to the junkyard?"

"No," Mal admitted. "He said it's dangerous."

"Well, it may seem that way," Atherton said. "Especially to someone as young as yourself."

"I'm not that young," Mal said. "I can drive the small transports."

"Malcolm," Atherton said. "Only the brave, big boys go there."

"I _am_ brave," Mal protested.

"It's no place for you," Atherton insisted. "Promise me you'll never go there?"

Mal sighed. "Fine."

* * *

The boy raced into Shuttle One. "Mama!" he said to the woman sitting on the couch. "You asked for me?" He looked toward the center of the room, where Nandi had set up a tub and was running cups of warm water over her daughter. Mal grinned. "Hey, Inara!"

"Hi Mal," she said, turning her head to see him better.

"I was just wondering where you were," Zoe said. "You were gone when I went to give you your breakfast."

"Ma, I'm fine," he said. "I was with Dad." He came over to the tub and knelt next to it. "I just found out about this cool place off ship. Let's go!"

"Mal," she said, closing her eyes briefly as water trickled down her face. "I'm kinda in the middle of a bath."

"You know, you're going to need one sometime soon," Zoe said, raising an eyebrow at Mal. "Maybe when Nandi is finished she can let you use the tub."

"Mama!" he said. "Not now. I'm just going to play anyway." He grabbed his friend's hand, pulling on it. "Come on, Nara, you're clean, can we go now?"

Nandi poured another cup of water over Inara's head, rinsing out the last of the soap and the girl stood up and wrapped a towel around her, letting her mother take another towel to her hair. "Where are we going? It'd better not be somewhere ridiculous."

"Yes," Zoe said. "Where is this cool place?"

"You know," Mal said. "Down near the market. The peasant fields."

"What's so great about that place?" Inara asked with a hint of contempt.

"I'll show you when we get there," Mal said through his teeth.

"_Oh, I see_," Inara said. She stepped into her dress and let her mother pin up her hair. "Mama, can I go with Mal?"

"Hmmm," Nandi said. "What do you think, Zoe?"

"It's all right with me if they bring Wash," Zoe said.

"Wash?" Mal said, frowning. "Not Wash."

"What's wrong with Wash?" Nandi asked.

"He's…" Mal looked at Inara for help.

She studied him, and he raised his eyebrows slightly, trying to help her. She wasn't as good at reading people as her mother was yet. "He's mad at Mal," she guessed, raising an eyebrow slightly in his direction.

So she was improving! "Oh! Right, yes, he is!" Mal said, nodding. "That's right!" Inara glared at him, and he took the hint, clearing his throat. "That is correct, he's…he's mad at me. Mama, don't make us bring Wash."

"You _could_ just stay here and have a bath."

Mal looked at Inara. "I'll go get him. Actually…" he said after taking a step toward the door. "Can you go get him? He's mad at me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a heads up – I may or may not have ruined my computer (I'll find out in the next couple days) and my draft of this fic is on that hard drive. I'm not abandoning the fic, but it might be a little while, say a week, until I can update again. I'm on my parents' ancient desktop right now, so it's slow and freezes, so I'm hoping to get my computer worked out soon. Luckily, this scene had only been skeleton drafted, so I was able to re-create it here.**

"I'm not sure I understand your fascination with the farming," Wash said, buzzing slightly ahead on the hovering bike. "Why don't we go back to the ship and I'll show you my magic switches?"

"Um, Mal," Inara said quietly, "where is it that we're going, exactly?"

"Junkyard." Mal put a finger to his lips. "We just have to ditch the hovering."

"What are you guys talking about?" Wash said, turning around to see them better.

"Nothin'," Mal said. "Just…just stuff."

"Brilliant."

"Shut up."

"Ah," Wash said. "Did I pry into your flirting?"

"Flirting?" Inara said. "We aren't flirting!"

"Why would I flirt with her?" Mal asked. "She's my friend."

"Yeah," Wash said, smiling like they were cute. "Just give it a few years. You two are going to end up married, everyone says it."

"Seems to me the two people who have a say in it aren't saying it," Mal said. "I couldn't marry her."

"It would certainly be…weird," Inara agreed, the two of them making uncomfortable faces at one another.

"Well Mal," Wash said, leaning back, "you gotta marry someone."

"What, 's'it a rule?" Mal raised his eyebrows. "Because if so, when I'm Captain, I'll be rid of it. I'd make one horrible husband!"

"You'll…you'll just be _rid_ of a tradition going back generations?"

Wash launched into a speech about upholding tradition, doing one's duty, responsibilities that a ship's captain was expected to take on, and Mal turned to Inara, mouthing along silently.

"Are they growing beans?" Inara asked, smirking, turning from him to look at the field. "I can't tell from here, but they don't look like bean plants. Are awfully low, though."

"It's corn," Mal said. "I heard the cook talking about it with my father when we landed. This planet can sustain eight inch corn plants that put a higher percentage of their energy into making the cobs."

"So in that case…" Inara let her eyes wander. "That silo over there would be storing what they've already harvested?"

"I think so," Mal said. "Yes, it appears so. It's got that ramp halfway up, goes to a trapdoor. You spring it from the top…there should be a ladder on the other side…and it can release the top half of the corn to make the first collection for sale easier."

"How long did you listen to them talk for?" Inara asked, looking surprised.

"Ma wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate my protein shavings."

"Ew." Inara wrinkled her nose. "See, what I'm thinking is if we…"

"Well, clearly, I'm being ignored," Wash said. "So you two, why don't you just go look at the plants so we can go back to Serenity?" He hopped off the bike and motioned to the field.

"Come on, 'Nara," Mal said, breaking into a run down one of the rows. Inara took off after him.

"_Children_!"Wash yelled, sprinting ahead of them and blocking their way. "You're not getting rid of me that easily.:"

"What if I just fired you?" Mal said, shrugging.

"You can't fire me," Wash said, sounding as if he was losing patience. "Only the captain can fire me, and you, Mal, are not the captain."

"I will be one day," Mal said. "And then you'll have to do what I tell you."

"Maybe so," Wash said, "but I don't yet. And right now, I'm under strict orders to keep you two under control."

"To keep me under control," Mal said, beginning to circle around Wash. "You know why I can't wait to be captain? No one's going to tell me I'm out of control."

"And no one will tell you who you should marry." Inara had begun circling the pilot opposite Mal.

"Cut it out!" Wash said sternly. "I mean it!"

"No one'll tell me 'cut it out'," Mal added, pointing at Inara to be sure she'd heard.

"Now see here, Mal," Wash started again. "You can't just…"

"No one will tell you to _'see here'_," Inara said.

"I can't wait to be captain," Mal said, taking off again, running against the grain of the field, bounding over each row of short corn. "I'll be able to do whatever I want!" He spun, running backward, through some of the corn plants. The farmers near him threw up their hands in annoyance. Mal turned back around once Inara got even with him. "You can have the second biggest room!" He slowed down to navigate a lower, muddier part of the field. They were nearing the silo.

"Mal, you're such a gentleman!" Inara said, giggling. She glanced behind her. "Have we lost him?"

"Not quite," Mal said. He grabbed her hand and they sprinted the last couple of feet to the silo. "There should be a ladder here somewhere…"

"Mal," Inara said. "Run over to the lady over there and tell her…" Mal grinned when he heard her plan, and jogged the few yards to the woman she'd mentioned, leaning over and whispering in her ear.

Inara ran around to the far side of the silo. There was a ladder – it started about three feet up, and went to the top of the silo, where there was a door and a lever to release the corn. Ducking around the silo again, she nearly collided with Mal. "Where's the lady?"

"Telling those couple of guys over there we have to look out for Wash. Can you get up the ladder?"

"I can if you can," Inara said, jumping up and pulling herself up enough to get her foot on the bottom rung. Mal followed, both of them wiggling through the small door at the top and falling into the corn.

_"When I'm captain, we won't need to come up with this stuff,_" he whispered to Inara.

Mal wiggled up to where they'd come and stuck his head out into the daylight. Wash, running toward them from just a few yards away, noticed him and jumped onto the ladder. "When you kids get home…"

Mal waited until Wash's hand was even with the top rung, then reached over, grabbed the lever fixated next to him, and pushed it down. Giggling at Wash's face as the pilot realized what they'd done, Mal felt Inara pull him back, into the pile of corn, as it started to sink down, the corn shooting down the ramp fixated halfway down and lowering the level in the silo.

"No!" The frustrated yell echoed through the silo as Wash's face appeared above them. The sounds he got back were the giggles of the children inside, and the angry shouts of the farmers that Mal and Inara could hear run up to him.

"I…I didn't pull the…" Wash's face disappeared "_There are children in the silo!_"

Mal and Inara remained silent until the yelling faded a bit, then they peered out from where the ramp connected, the corn resting just below the rim. Wash was being chased back across the field by a half dozen angry workers, some waving their hands, others the small handheld harvesting machines.

"We did it!" Inara said, bumping her shoulder against Mal's.

"I am a _genius_," Mal said, smiling.

"Hey _genius_," Inara said, frowning. "It was my idea."

"Well yeah," Mal said. "You had a critical role to play in this. But _I_ pulled it off."

"With _me_!" Inara protested. "You just said I had a critical role!"

"Yes, yes, I did," he said, patting her shoulder. She shoved him against the side, and he pushed back, knocking both of them out the opening and rolling down the ramp. They landed in a heap, in several feet of corn, Inara on top. She giggled. "Pinned you!"

"Let me up!" Mal said. She didn't move, just kept smiling down at him. "Inara, I've got corn going down my shirt."

Inara backed off, sliding off the corn pile and standing, smoothing down her skirt. Mal stood up, shook off, and then jumped at her, trying to knock the girl of balance. She was too fast for him, taking off at a dead run on the downhill terrain. Mal sprinted after her, both of them laughing.

Inara tripped on her skirt with Mal less than a pace behind and fell, and Mal pounced, the two of them stumbling, then falling, then, with their built up momentum and the downhill, tumbling for what seemed like miles before coming to a stop. Even at eleven, Mal outweighed Inara just enough to be a little ahead of her, and she used the last of her momentum to roll up over him. Putting both hands on his chest, she leaned down playfully. "Pinned you again!"

"'Nara," Mal said, pushing her off. "Look. We're here."

"Wow," She said, standing up and holding out a hand to pull Mal to his feet.

Around them were piles upon piles of garbage – but not the kind that usually got let out of Serenity. This wasn't old food and human waste – there were ship parts, beams, gears taller than Mal. There were dumpsters that held who knew what, and large boxes, and even entire ships and shuttles! Small ones, of course, nothing like a Firefly – which wasn't even the largest ship in the 'Verse – but large enough to render Mal and Inara speechless.

"Look at this!" Mal said, running over to a pile and yanking out a machine part. "Tian says this here's a…a…I don't remember what it's called but it's mighty important. 'Nara, we could build our own ship from this place!"

"There's entire ships already _in_ this place!" Inara said in wonder, looking up at one of the smaller ones nearest them. Then she went solemn. "Mal…do you think there's still people in there?"

"Maybe," Mal said. "Wanna go check it out?"

"The only checking out you two are going to do will be to check out of this place!"

Mal and Inara faced Wash. Their annoyed expressions mirrored each other's.

"_Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be here?_" Wash said furiously.

"Oh, come on, is Shaved His Moustache scared?" Mal asked, laughing and poking Wash in the chest.

"It's _Mister_ Shaved His Moustache to you, Tightpants," Wash warned. "Now come, we have to get out of here before any scavengers get here! I won't tell you twice!"

"Scavengers?" Inara said. "Wouldn't they just be here for…" she gestured to the smorgasbord of ship parts.

"You two need to understand something," Wash said, looking as if he was starting to panic. "There are…_savage men_ that wait for hurting ships…or mindless wanderers…to come here, and they swoop in from out of nowhere and…"

"Reavers?" Inara asked. "They aren't real."

"Yeah," Mal said. "Trying to scare us with stories, Wash? I want to look to build myself a gun that shoots bullets."

"Reavers ain't stories, you two," Wash said. "You just don't remember the last time we had a scare. You must have been eight or nine…and it was night, you two slept through the whole thing. Your father is good at avoiding areas where they might be, but places like this are absolute _feasts_ for people like them. It's far too dangerous to be here."

"Danger?" Mal looked at Inara and smirked. "I laugh in the face of danger." He opened his mouth to laugh obnoxiously, and there came a roar from behind them, drowning out any sound that he might have made.

Mal looked at Wash, who was staring in horror. Spinning around, he saw a large ship appear from over the most massive pile of garbage and screech to a stop, waves of dirt flying up around it, s it came to a stop just yards from the trio. The side door fell open, and…_creatures_ began appearing, hitting the ground and moving toward Mal, Inara, and Wash.

"_Reavers_!" Wash shouted, using his arms to shoo Mal and Inara away from the ship. "_Run_!"

This time, he didn't have to tell them twice.

* * *

Atherton rolled off the woman beneath him and stared up at the ceiling, putting his hands behind his head and taking a deep breath.

"You were certainly feeling good today," she responded, moving closer to him and putting her head on his chest. "In a good mood?"

"Ah, yes," Atherton said. "I finally figured out how to get Mal to run off to one of those Reaver yards we've been landing near recently. With any luck, they've taken care of him by now."

"Then you only have to wait for the old captain to die to take the ship yourself?"

"Precisely," Atherton said. "Zoe wouldn't have another child, not after the death of the son she's so proud of. And the captain is getting old, anyway."

"You know," she said, lifting herself up and looking down at him. "If Mal's death puts you back as next in line to the captain's quarters…wouldn't the death of the Captain put you even closer?"

"Kill Book?" A smile came over Atherton's face, and he tugged the woman closer. "My dear Saffron. Our minds are in sync."


	4. Chapter 4

**I have a new laptop! *happy dance for new laptop* *mourning dance for bank account and old laptop***

**This chapter is a bit shorter, but I'll be adding scenes to the next one (like I did previously with Atherton/Saffron) so this breaks it up a bit.**

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, even those that did so anonymously!**

* * *

"_Reavers!_" Wash shouted again, continuing to wave his arms, shooing Mal and Inara back toward the bike.

They didn't need to be shooed. The kids, wide eyed, were charging across the junkyard, the Reavers bounding after them. "Run!" Mal yelled at Inara, though she was right next to him. Wash, right behind, kept on shooing.

"Come on!" Inara said, grabbing Mal by the sleeve. He saw what she was looking at and charged ahead, jumping straight into the large pipe that ran right through a large pile of garbage. Inara followed him, grabbing onto the back of his coat. The pipe ended, dropping them several feet onto piles of fuel cans, bricks, protruding beams, and…Mal cleared his throat as a means of addressing the bones. He and Inara lunged at the pile, struggling to climb faster than their footholds came loose.

He heard Inara shriek, and Mal twisted around to look for her as he pulled himself to the top. Somehow, she'd come to be hanging from one of the beams, her arms wrapped around it for dear life as she pulled herself chest level with the beam. Mal took the briefest moment to observe that the footing beneath her had fallen away, leaving her to cling to the pipe as an alternative to falling down the heap with the Reavers just yards away.

Mal slid down to where she was, dug his heels into the pile to come to a stop, and grabbed her hand, pulling her close enough to regain her footing. Remembering what his father had told him just that morning, Mal removed his dart gun from his belt, aimed, and fired. The dart shot forward and lodged itself in the Reaver's stomach. It screeched in protest.

Matching stride for stride, Mal and Inara reached a wall amid the garbage and jumped, catching the top of it and using their momentum to jump clear over. It was a bad move. They found themselves falling, landing with simultaneous grunts on the cold, sticky floor of a dumpster. Mal, instantly on his feet, tried to jump out the other end, but the dumpster had sunk into the ground and it was a higher jump to get out than to get in. They needed a new plan, but he couldn't figure out just what that new plan might be. He jumped again, missed, and landing with a frustrated groan.

"Shhh!" Inara put her hand over his mouth. "_Stay quiet._"

"_You think they won't find us_?" Mal whispered.

"_Maybe not." _Inara sat next to him. _"Nice shot, by the way."_

"_I was aiming for its head."_

Inara gasped when the sound of scratching came from a few feet outside of the bin. Mal clapped a hand over her mouth. She narrowed her eyes at him.

Suddenly, Mal heard the sound of an engine, and he used the sound cover to throw his weight back, bringing him and Inara against the back of the dumpster.

Then, there was gunfire. A split second later, an adult form launched over the top of the dumpster. The children started and grabbed onto each other.

It was Wash. Looking almost as panicked as Mal and Inara, he scooted backward to sit next to them.

The gunfire continued for a few more seconds, and then stopped. There was a panting sound, and then the top half of Captain Book appeared, held up by his arms, staring down at the trio.

Wash smiled and pointed at Mal and Inara proudly. Book glared. Wash cleared his throat and lowered his head.

Book disappeared, and there was a dragging sound. Then he appeared again, standing on something, and raised an eyebrow. Wash stood, picked up Inara, and handed her to the captain. He vanished momentarily, and then returned to take Mal from the pilot. He dropped him the couple of feet to the ground beside Inara, who was looking, wide eyed, at the dead Reavers laying around them.

Book jumped off the box and narrowed his eyes at Mal. "Father," Mal said, "I just wanted…"

"You deliberately disobeyed me!" Book said.

Mal took a step back, bumping into Inara. "I'm…I'm sorry."

Book shook his head. "Come with me." He turned, heading back toward the fields.

His eyes on the ground, Mal followed, directed by his father's shadow. After a few moments, he felt Inara take hold of his fingers. "I thought you were very brave," she whispered. Mal tilted his head and caught her eye for a few paces, then both of them lowered their eyes to the ground in front of them.

Behind them, there was a tapping noise on the dumpster. Wash's quiet voice came from inside. "Captain? Mal? Inara?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**I still don't own anything, of course!**

* * *

Upon reaching Serenity, Nandi came running down the ramp and fell to her knees in front of the children, pulling Inara close. "Oh, baby," she said.

"Take her inside, Nandi," Book said. "I need to speak to my son alone."

The Companion stood, looking at Book for a moment, then turning to her daughter. "Come on," Nandi said gently, taking Inara by the hand and walking her back toward the ship. Inara looked back at Mal sadly.

"Mal!" Book said, sharply. "Come over here, please."

Looking at the ground, Mal walked toward his father. The ground was soft enough Book's footprints were visible, and Mal stopped for a moment, remember how he would run behind his father, trying to land his feet inside of his footprints. It was always hard to make his stride the length of his father's, and now, with Mal's foot next to the print of the captain's, it was glaringly obvious to Mal just how small and powerless he was compared to Book.

Taking a deep breath, Mal continued to his father's side. He stopped at Book's shoulder, lowering his head.

Book looked down at him. "Malcolm, I'm very disappointed in you."

"I understand, sir," Mal said quietly.

"You deliberately disobeyed me," he continued. "And you know what's worse?" He turned to face Mal, looking his son in the eye. "You put Inara in danger."

Mal choked up. "I…" He stopped to take a breath. "I was just trying to be brave. Like you."

"Mal, I'm only brave when necessary," he said. "I only kill when the alternative is worse."

"That why you always shoot at kneecaps?" Mal asked.

Book chuckled. "Right. Mal, being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. There is a big difference between being brave and being foolish."

"You don't have to look for trouble," Mal said. "You ain't afraid of nothing."

Book let out a breath through his nose. "I was today. I thought I might lose you. And to the Reavers. Mal, promise me you won't ever do anything that would endanger Serenity to the Reavers."

Mal nodded. "I promise." He looked up at his father. "But space is so big. There's so much bad out there."

"Who told you that?"

"Wash."

"Well," Book said, "he's right. There are many Reaver ships. There are many scavengers. And there are many rogues who will take advantage."

"I…I never thought of the world as that bad," Mal said, remembering how little his footprint was next to his father's. "It's like we're all trapped in this cycle of fear."

"A little overwhelming, isn't it?" Book asked.

Mal nodded, averting his eyes.

"Do you know what my father said that you should do when you feel overwhelmed?"

"What?"

Book picked Mal up and lifted him over his head, settling the boy on his shoulders. "Look at the stars. Each represents a system, a home. Someone's dream. Someone's struggle. Just as a sun is responsible for the lives of everyone on Whitefall, Serenity is responsible for ours. That Firefly behind us is a home, a family, a dream. And each star out there? They're all Fireflies in that sense. Each light you see out there is a Firefly, making its own way through the 'Verse. The Reavers can chase us, the Scavengers can pick at the old parts we leave in the junkyards. The con men can steal a man's land. But as long as we can fly, we have all we need. If you ever find yourself forgetting that, just look out at all those Fireflies, and remember that you're still free."

* * *

Mal knocked on the door of Shuttle One. It was late, Nandi would be asleep – he hoped. He squinted as the door opened, smiling when he was at eye level with his greeter.

"Are you in trouble?" she asked.

Mal looked down. "I can't let him down again. I have to be the best captain there ever was 'cept for him." He shifted his feet. "I've got such big shoes to fill, 'Nara."

Inara stood quietly for a moment. "I believe in you."

He raised his head until she was in his gaze. "You do?"

She nodded. "You're going to be great." Her mouth turned up into a crooked smile. "I'd sail with you. All over this 'verse!"

They smiled at each other. "Inara," Mal said after a moment. "What do you see when you look at the stars?"

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean other than stars. What do you see?"

He was doing a terrible job of explaining what he meant, but Inara's mother _was _a Companion. "I see opportunity. All the things that I want to see. Even if they seem impossible."

Mal nodded. "Well, when I'm Captain, we'll see as many of them as we can."

Inara smiled. "I look forward to it."

Mal stepped closer to her, and the children hugged.

* * *

"If Wash hadn't found Book so quickly, those children would be dead by now," Saffron said bitterly, sitting on the recliner in Atherton's quarters.

"We can figure out something else," Atherton said. "We could poison them."

"Suspicion would fall on me right away," Saffron reminded him.

"But I'd be Captain," Atherton said. "I could lie about how they died."

"Atherton, poison symptoms are very obvious, especially with what we've got to work with on board. And the old doctor would never go for it."

"Then we'll kill him too."

"Not smart," she said, shaking her head. "This has to look unfortunate, not suspicious, and it has to make you look good. You may have claim to the ship, but they need to believe you're taking over against your own wishes."

"Those Reavers would have been the perfect excuse," he lamented.

"Do you know where we are traveling next?" Saffron asked.

"Hera," Atherton said. "Agricultural planet."

"It's located between the core and the outer planets," Saffron said thoughtfully. "Entirely possible that Reavers might be lurking near there."

Atherton smiled slyly at her, then rose and walked over to the small portrait of Book, Zoe, and Mal by the door – the Captain family photograph, standard in all apprentice quarters. He turned back to Saffron. "Dear Saffron, are you prepared to take part in the coup of the century?"

She smiled sinisterly back at him. "Oh Atherton. I'm prepared for the _murkiest scam._"

He turned back, touching his finger to the photograph and running it over the faces. His eyes narrowed as he spoke to the image. "_Be prepared_."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six.**

* * *

"How much longer until we get to Hera, mama?" Mal asked.

"Three days," Zoe told him. "Maybe four. There's not too much trouble you can get into between now and then."

"I don't go looking for trouble," Mal said quickly. "That's not what being a captain means."

"You're quite right about that," Zoe said, nodding.

"What's on Hera?"

"We're stocking, and got some food that needs to be transported to one of the outer planets. That little farm that we were just parked by, they can sustain their little town, but once you get farther out it can be harder for folk to have balanced meals. They're having a festival on Friday. We're hoping to land Thursday night to pick up the goods after they harvest."

"But we might land Friday?" Mal asked.

"Well, we couldn't take off without our pilot and I had to fetch him from that dumpster that you and your father left him in," Zoe said. "That delayed us a bit since he had to eat up before we could fly."

Mal smirked. "Oops."

Zoe raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't ever leave a man behind, Malcolm."

Mal nodded solemnly. "Can we play cards?"

"Not right now, baby boy. I'm working on some star charts for your father. We'll need them to navigate beyond Hera."

Mal slumped over. "Okay."

"Why don't you go see what Inara's up to?" Zoe said. "Or go talk to Tian?"

"Tian's asleep and Inara's in her dance lesson," Mal said.

"Maybe Nandi can teach you to dance."

"I don't want to learn how to dance," Mal said.

"Well I suppose that's as good a reason as any to not learn," Zoe said with some amusement. "Now you go off and find something to do, you understand?"

Mal nodded.

* * *

"Mal! Come on in," Nandi said kindly from the bed. She was sitting on the edge, hands in her lap, watching her daughter. Inara was in front of her, performing what seemed to Mal like the most intricate dance routine he'd ever seen, but was probably child's play compared to what a trained companion could do.

She smiled when she saw him. "Hi Mal!" came her enthusiastic greeting as she glided past him. Nandi patted the bed, and Mal jumped up next to her.

Inara planted a foot, and then hesitated for a moment. Her eyes narrowed, and then she put her arms out to the sides and twirled.

"Inara," Nandi said, looking amused, "that's not it."

"I know," she said, coming to a stop. "But it's better than just standing there looking confused, yes?"

"I suppose."

Inara lowered herself to the ground gathering her skirt around her appropriately. "When will we land on Hera?"

"Thursday," Nandi said. "I'm seeing a client Friday who has a daughter near your age. Would you two like to come? He has a pool."

"An actual real pool?" Mal said. "Outside of the core? How about that?"

"I'd love to go," Inara said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Well then I will let him know," she said, smiling.

"I'm surprised you like pools," Inara said to Mal, "considering that Patience held you under that one other time we got to play in one."

"Patience held you under the water?" Nandi asked.

Mal shrugged. "Well, yeah, she did a bit." He grinned at Nandi. "My mother had to resuscitate me."

Inara rolled her eyes. "She slapped you on the back and said 'breathe, dammit'!"

"Inara, language."

"I'm just repeating what Madam Zoe said." Inara shrugged. "And that hardly qualifies as resuscitation."

"Do you think we'll pick up more kids on Hera?" Mal asked. "With the harvest being over, maybe folk would like to travel with their families?"

"I suppose it's possible," Nandi said. "Your mother and father would know more than I do. Hera's not the richest planet, however. I'm not sure how many-a them can afford to travel. Perhaps if the harvest was plentiful."

"If we had more kids," Mal said. "We could play cards without needing the adults to play with us. Seems all the good games need at least three."

"The cook plays with you sometimes, doesn't she?" Nandi asked.

"Yes," Mal said. "But she always wins."

Nandi chuckled. "One day you'll beat her, I'm sure."


	7. Chapter 7

**I wanted to keep putting off this chapter, but had to get to it eventually.**

* * *

"The chip is in his pocket," Saffron said. "All you have to do is get him to the location and hit the distress signal, which will transmit for ten minutes. The Reavers will pick up the signal and do the rest."

"Thank you," Atherton said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to him. "You are performing brilliantly, Love."

"My performances are enhanced at the prospect of you being Captain," she said, putting her hands on his neck. "To have what is rightly yours, what you have worked for. I've always found inheritance of titles based on lineage to be odd. Power is not your birthright. Power is for the qualified and deserving. And you are certainly that."

"Just a few days, lovely cook," Atherton said in her ear. "And you will call _me_ 'Captain'."

* * *

"Mal," Atherton said, putting his arm around the boy. "Would you like to come with me into Serenity Valley?"

"Serenity Valley?" Mal asked. "What's in Serenity Valley?"

"Well, it's something of a secret. For you and your father. It is absolutely to die for."

"Really?" Mal said. "When do we go?"

"Well, as soon as possible!" Atherton said. "Surprises do have an expiration date."

"Today?" Mal asked. "Inara and I were going to a pool."

"I'm sorry, Mal, but yes, it has to be today. Say in an hour?"

Mal hesitated for a moment. He supposed he'd been in a pool before. "Okay."

* * *

"Are you sure you can't come?" Inara asked, standing on the landing facing Mal as he came down the stairs.

"I'm sure," he said. "Atherton and my father have somewhere to be with me."

"Well, alright," she said. "Duty calls, I suppose."

"As it does for me," Nandi said, coming up behind her daughter. "Mal, we must depart. So very sorry you cannot join us. Next time?"

"For sure." Mal grinned at Inara and bowed playfully. She curtsied. Nandi smiled, then took the girl by her shoulders and turned her around to head back to the shuttle.

"Mal," said Atherton from the holding area. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded. "Coming down."

* * *

"Where is my father?" Mal asked as he and Atherton walked into the valley, Shuttle Two waiting behind them.

"I will go and get him," Atherton said. "You just pick one of these rocks and sit on it. Get some solar warmth before we go back into the cold blackness."

"I don't want to just sit here," Mal said. "I'll go with you."

"No!" Atherton said sharply, causing Mal to jump back against one of the larger rocks. "You just stay right here. Alright?"

Mal reluctantly hoisted him up onto the rock. "Okay. Ath," he said, "does the surprise have anything to do with your sword? You usually don't carry it."

Atherton's hand went to the hilt. "You will see, Mal. Stay on the rock."

Mal pushed himself closer to the center of the rock's top. "Yes sir."

"That's a good boy," Atherton said, tussling Mal's hair. "See you soon."

Upon reaching the shuttle and guiding it just outside of the Valley – Serenity the ship a mere two miles away – Atherton activated the distress signal that would transmit from the chip in Mal's pocket. Upon noticing a nearby, oddly shaped ship on the radar, Atherton sped off for Serenity.

* * *

Down in the valley, Mal lay on his back on the rock, legs dangling off, staring up at the sky. It was oddly blue, not a cloud anywhere. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a sky like that. The flickering fireflies would be especially bright that night.

The clear sky was not, however, doing anything to stop the bugs. The buzzing in his left ear was not going away no matter how much Mal swatted. Eventually, he just sat up and shook his head, waving his arms around. The insect apparently took the hint and the buzzing stopped.

Then a new kind of sound found Mal's ears. It was coming from the…Mal turned his head – and nearly instantly paled. A ship was coming over the rise, and Mal knew from horrifyingly recently what kind of ship it was.

He didn't do anything for several seconds. He couldn't. He just stared in disbelief. Then, as the ship began to land and he could see the movement inside as its occupants readied themselves to de-board, instinct took in. Mal spun on his heel and ran.

* * *

Book sat, his feet up, in the co-pilot's chair, chatting with Wash about the passengers they were taking on. It had been a good morning of recruitment; they had six ships that would be flying under Serenity's protection, as well as three passengers traveling on Serenity herself. He was describing one family, a middle aged widower with three teenaged children, when Wash frowned and looked at his radar screen. "Sir, there's a large unidentified ship coming up that's landing a few miles away."

Book cocked his head. "Odd."

"Captain!" Wash and Book both jumped as Atherton appeared in the doorway, out of breath. "Reavers! In the valley!" He panted. "Mal's down there!"

Book jumped up. "Mal?"

* * *

Mal had about a fifty yard head start on the Reavers, but they were grown men, and his frequent glances backward were slowing him down. They were closing in on him. Forty five yards now, perhaps. Now forty. The edge of the valley, with its small caves and crevices that he could easily hide in, was easily a mile away. Mal doubted his ability to stay ahead of them that long.

Suddenly, there was a new kind of noise – a familiar one, a transport his ear recognized. Looking upward, Mal saw Shuttle Two coming across the valley, dipping downward toward him. He saw a vague shape inside, then heard an amplified voice – Wash's. "Your father is here! Hold on!"

Mal glanced behind him. The Reavers had easily halved the distance that had been originally between them and the boy. And while they seemed to be running as strong as ever, Mal was getting tired. It was only adrenaline carrying him now.

* * *

Wash guided the shuttle to be just ahead of Mal, lowering it to just five feet above the ground. "I'm burning lots of fuel here!" he shouted.

"I'm out!" Book jumped around Atherton and leaped out of the shuttle, landing hard just as Mal reached him. Book hoisted the boy up and took off, sprinting along just behind Shuttle Two and mere yards ahead of the Reavers.

"Oh gosh," Wash said, struggling with all the dust being kicked up to maintain control of the small shuttle, a craft not used to maneuvering at this speed. "Okay, if we can just…keep…this another few seconds, they should be able to re-board. Yes, we'll do this, we'll do this! We'll-"

Atherton lowered the crowbar after the pilot slumped forward, tossing it back into the corner, seeing out the window the world spin as the shuttle flew off sideways.

And not noticing the cable that had come loose and was dangling out the open shuttle door.

* * *

Book had just been preparing to toss Mal up to the shuttle when it veered off course. He didn't know what had happened, but it was just a few hundred yards to the edge of the valley, and he'd managed to put a little distance between them and the pack of Reavers.

"Dad!" Mal cried.

"It's okay, son!" Book said, covering the last few yards like he'd just begun running. Climbing up a few feet and pushing Mal up onto a ledge, a crevice big enough for the boy just feet away.

Book was pulling himself up onto the ledge when the Reavers caught up. Several of them grabbed Book by the leg and dragged him back down.

"_Dad!_" Mal shouted. The dust was too thick. He couldn't see anything.

Book kicked one of the Reavers out, reaching for his gun and firing, dropping several of the Reavers that were carrying him. Another one met his foot and thudded heavily to the dusty ground.

* * *

Atherton flew low, wanting to verify that the Reavers had both of their intended victims. This would do no good if one of them survived. The dust made it nearly impossible to see.

Suddenly the shuttle lurched, and Atherton looked behind him in surprise. The cable, attached to the side of the shuttle, was taut. Suspicous, Atherton left the controls and looked out, shocked to see Book, just three feet from the top, clawing himself upward, his hands pale from gripping the cable.

"Atherton!" he called, spotting the apprentice. "Help pull me up."

Atherton just stared. How in the world did…and if he was coming back, he must have saved…Atherton dropped to his knees and leaned out of the shuttle, bracing himself against the jolting of a pilotless shuttle that was gaining altitude rapidly. He never thought his voice had sounded more ominous when he said, staring into Book's eyes, "_O Captain, my Captain._"

Standing, and looking at the confusion in Book's eyes, Atherton drew his sword and brought it down, elegantly, on the cable.

It snapped.

* * *

As the dust cleared, Mal jumped down from the ledge. He could see the Reavers, scattered about, all dead of gunshot wounds or with faces covered in blood. His father was such a machine sometimes!

Mal kept walking, unsure of where to go or what to do. The shuttle would return for him, surely…or was it damaged? Should he walk home?

As the dust continued to settle, Mal saw that the Reaver ship was gone. At least one must have survived. Looking to the side, Mal another still form, lying a distance from the Reavers, near where the ship would be had all of them been killed. Mal recognized the clothing. "No," he said under his breath, rushing toward the body. He recognized the face. "No," he said, dropping to the ground next to his father. "Dad. Dad, come on, wake up." He shook him, then tried grabbing his hand and pulling on it. "Come on, we gotta go home."

Every time Mal shook or pulled on his father, there was no response. No voluntary motion. Mal felt his eyes fill with tears. "No. No, no no no." He laid down, his head on Book's chest, pulling one of the motionless arms over him in an embrace. "Dad." Tears escaped.

Mal didn't know how long he'd been lying there when Shuttle Two appeared, landing gently a few feet from them. Atherton exited, walking over to Mal and kneeling next to him. "Mal, Mal." Mal opened his eyes and looked up at the apprentice, who was shaking his head. "What have you done?"

"I…" Mal jumped up. "There were Reavers, and he tried to save me. He and Wash came…it was an accident." He looked back at Book, then up to Atherton, his eyes full of fresh tears. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Oh," Atherton said, pulling the boy into a hug. "Of course you didn't. No one ever means for these things to happen. But…the captain _is_ dead. He looked sadly down at the boy. "And if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive."

Mal's tears escaped, and he clung to Atherton. "I…"

"Oh," Atherton said suddenly. "Your mother! What would she think?"

"I…I can't…" Mal shook his head. "What am I going to do?"

Atherton bent, putting his face at eye level with the boy's. "Run."

"Run?"

"Run away, Mal. And _never_ return to Serenity." Mal stared. "Go!"

The boy turned on his heel heading in the opposite direction of Serenity, not looking back this time.

Atherton stood over Book's body, watching the boy go. His hand went to his pocket, activating the distress signal once more.

* * *

This time, Mal saw the Reavers ship just as it broke into the atmosphere, and he flew into a run again, heading over the rocky terrain in search of another place to hide. The ship was close behind him, but they couldn't get him with their ship's technology. He was too small. They would have to land.

The ship flew overhead, just feet above him, coming to a sharp landing just ahead of Mal, but directly in his path, forcing him to change course. His ankle twisted underneath him, pain shooting up his leg, but Mal didn't fully notice. He keep running over the loose footing, not quite sure why he wanted to live with the guilt he was feeling. But his legs kept pumping. He kept holding the Reavers off.

As Mal tired, he placed his bad foot down on a rock that needed only his weight to dislodge. Falling, Mal found himself rolling down a sharp incline. His hip hit a rock awkwardly, and he heard and felt some object in his pocket shatter. Eventually, bruised and battered and looking more like he'd fought a war all on his own, Mal's body lost its momentum and he lay on his side on the hard, hot ground. The sun was blinding him, giving him a headache, preventing him from any real attempts to stay conscious.

**I felt it appropriate to have this take place in Serenity Valley, make it the low point in Mal's life as it is in canon. Next chapter will introduce a few new characters.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter! I'm kinda surprising myself at how much Nandi I'm putting in this fic, haha, since Sarafina was barely in The Lion King at all! But hey, I like Nandi and I'm really enjoying playing with her friendships with the other characters.**

* * *

"Derrial Book was a…he was a good man," Atherton said, looking at the ground solemnly. The crew and passengers of Serenity stood in the holding area in a circle, Atherton near the stairs. "And for him to die the way he did, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But for young Malcolm, who showed so much promise, so much enthusiasm…for him to be gone as well…well I know it hurts many of us…deeply, personally."

An audible sob came from Inara. "Shhh." Nandi half soothed and half warned as she drew her daughter closer against her stomach. The girl put a hand to her mouth. Nandi rested her chin on Inara's head as she looked over at Zoe. Mal's mother was stoic. As probably should have been expected. Zoe was the type to endure pain internally, not projecting her grief on others. She was the perfect Madam. But that title was no longer hers. Captain Book was dead. Malcolm was dead. As far as status was concerned, Zoe Alleyne was no more important to Serenity than Nandi herself was.

Wash stepped closer. He could see the pain in Zoe's eyes. He put an arm around her comfortingly, and for a moment, Zoe's lip trembled. Then she blinked, and it was gone. Nandi didn't know how she did it.

"As I have the means, and am, for all intents and purposes, family," Atherton continued. "It is with…a heavy heart…that I captain this ship. We will be a bold family. We will go far out into the reaches of space, salvage ships, become profitable! It is the dawning of a new era."

"Go out?" Zoe said. "What of the people we are guarding?"

"What about Reavers?" Wash questioned.

"I am the captain," Atherton said. "It will be dealt with. First things first, Saffron?" He held out a hand, and the cook stepped forward, taking it. "Saffron and I are to be wed immediately. I expect her to be given all the proper respects. She is carrying my child."

* * *

River's mournful cries could be heard throughout the ship, but she lived near Shuttle One, and her wailing, ceremonious, sure, the mourning of the captain, but loud, wailing almost shook the entire shuttle.

Nandi's bed occupied both the companion and her daughter, the former holding the girl's dark head against her chest, trying and failing to drown out the sound. It wasn't helping her daughter calm down. She gripped her mother's shirt tightly in both hands, her head buried in Nandi's breast, her face hot with tears. Nandi rocked her gently, singing softly in Chinese, her years of companion training abandoning her at the moment she needed to comfort her own daughter.

There was a knock at the door, and Nandi lifted her head. "Come in." It was Zoe. "Oh darling," Nandi said. "Come here."

Zoe entered the shuttle, and Nandi jumped a little at a figure behind her. But it was only Wash. And behind him, Tian, then the old doctor, who shut the door securely.

"Come," Nandi said again of Zoe, who sunk down on the bed.

"Is it done?" Nandi asked.

"Atherton and Saffron have been married," the doctor said. "And Serenity is officially signed over. Their child will become the next in line."

Nandi put a hand over Zoe's. The former Madam shook her head. "He is going to destroy us."

Inara looked up at the two women, terrified, and Zoe managed a smile, putting a hand through the girl's hair. "Sweet 'Nara," she said. "We will manage. We always do. We're still flying." Nandi was pained at Zoe's comforting of Inara when the woman was in so much pain herself. She admired her friend more by the moment.

Nandi's daughter shifted her weight again, looking up at her mother. "Try to sleep, baby girl," she said, rubbing Inara's shoulder. "We'll survive somehow."

The girl just shook her head at her mother. "Mal…"

"I know," Nandi said, pulling Inara's head back down to rest on her chest and putting a hand on the girl's head. "I know, baby." She looked at Zoe, who, if you didn't look in her eyes, just seemed tired. But those large brown eyes told a different story. "Zoe?"

Zoe let out a heavy breath. "When…when you can't run, you crawl and…and when you can't do that…"

Nandi nodded, scooting herself and Inara over toward the right side of the bed. Zoe laid down next to them, staring at the ceiling, and Nandi put a hand over hers.

"Would it be terribly inappropriate…" Wash started.

"Not at all," Nandi replied. "Make yourselves comfortable."

The old doctor settled himself into one of Nandi's chairs, curling his small frame as if he slept there every night. Tian sank down on the couch next to Wash, both of them staring at the floor.

The shuttle fell silent, the only audible sound the woeful cries coming from River's quarters.

**Decided to hold off on introducing "Timon" and "Pumbaa" until the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed this one, and as always, I appreciate reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

**New chapter time! As always, thank you to my reviewers!**

* * *

Mal came to suddenly, his head throbbing. "Is it Christmas?"

A man with curly black hair was smiling down at him. "Jayne! He lives!"

"Oh." Another man appeared in Mal's sight.

"You okay, kid?" the first man asked, setting a bowl of what Mal knew from his forehead to be very cold water down next to him.

Mal rolled onto his side. "I guess so. My head hurts."

"You've got lots of bruises, and probably a concussion," the first one said again.

"You nearly died!" blurted Jayne. "I saved you!" The first man raised his eyebrows. "Well, I suppose Universe helped."

Mal rose to his feet. "Well…thanks." Adjusting the strap on his suspenders, he looked around. He was in a dimly lit room that appeared much like Serenity's living quarters, but without the familiarity. There was a computing device in a corner, a section of the screen blinking rapidly. He saw an iron bench close to it, and nearby two cheap, but functional, beds with plain brown blankets. The room was almost uncomfortably warm and seemed to be heated through the floor.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a lovely underground pod near one of the hidden gems of Hera," Universe said enthusiastically. "No way to make a business living here, so we manage on our own!"

"It's great!" Jayne said. "Alliance ain't crawling up your leg, the place is heated by this natural spa of sorts downstairs, and if people do wander by you don't want nothing to do with, you just stay in here, underground. No one can hardly spot you here."

"It's basically paradise," Universe said. "But enough about us. Where are you from?"

Mal shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I can't go back."

"Ooooh, you're an outcast?" Universe said, his eyes glinting. "That's great! So are we!"

Jayne looked skeptical. "You look awfully young to have caused a ruckus. What did you do anyway?"

Mal sighed, looking down at his hands in his lap. "Something terrible. I don't really care to talk about it."

"Well, that works, because we don't want to hear about it!" Universe declared. "Kid, you just live with us. No questions asked, no pressures put on, just _hakuna matata_, all day, every day. As long as you don't mind watching a fight on the screen over there every once in a while you'll fit right in."

"Ha w aba hoo?" Mal asked, cocking his head.

"Ha-ku-na ma-ta-ta," Jayne said, slowly pronouncing each syllable. "It means 'no worries'."

"Don't feel bad," Universe said. "It took him days to be able to pronounce it. But here's what we've come to understand. Sometimes, bad things happen. And there's nothing you can do about it."

"So…"

"So, when the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world." Universe dropped down to sit next to Mal. "Put your past behind you. We're all running from something. The idea is to realize that here, you don't have to run, because nothing can catch you. If you forget what's eating you, it's just as good as nonexistent."

"Hakuna matata," Mal said thoughtfully. "It's your motto?"

Universe nodded. Exactly. "Words to live by. I mean, look at Jayne. See that gun he's got?"

Mal hadn't. As his eyes rested on the firearm, they widened and he looked at Universe with alarm.

"See?" Jayne said angrily, "that's exactly what all the rest of those no good…"

"Easy Jayne." Universe looked at Mal. "Jayne's a gun fanatic. That turns him off to a lot of people. But we're a good mile from the nearest town with nothing in between point A and point B so here he's free to shoot at whatever he wants, and when we go to town we can have a few drinks without him itching to shoot something."

"Hey now, it's not out of control," Jayne said, a hand protectively over the gun. "I'll shoot a man in a fair fight. Or if I think he's about to start a fair fight…or if there's a woman involved…or over money…"

"Or if he thinks Vera's not getting the action she deserves," Universe said to Mal.

"Vera?"

"That's what I call her," Jayne said. "This here gun's my Vera." A sinister smile came over his face.

"He can be a little off putting to some," Universe admitted. "But if you're in a situation you don't like, it's much easier to leave the situation for a more favorable one than to try and change the one you're in."

"I guess so," Mal said.

"What do you say, huh?" Jayne said. "You wanna stay here with us?"

Mal nodded. "I don't have any other choice."

"In that case," Universe said with a big smile. "Welcome to our humble abode."

* * *

**Mainly, Jayne is Pumbaa because I translated flatulence being off putting to going nowhere without a gun and firing it at random times being off putting. Mr. Universe as Timon, well, that's for reasons that will hopefully become more evident in later chapters.**

**Apologies for the shortish update – since I'm not actually choreographing a theater performance of this fic (well, what goes on in my head stays in my head) the scenes that feature songs in canon will tend to be shorter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Lots of page breaks in this one - the larger page breaks are trying to show years passing whereas the smaller ones are just switching between Mal and those on Serenity. I'm trying to mimic the "log scene" where Simba grows up, but showing Mal at each stage of his life compared with Inara, since they are growing up in totally different situations. Then at the end, we reach more familiar The Lion King territory. More action happens in the next chapter!**

* * *

Nandi raced into her shuttle to find her daughter just as she'd left her, her head bowed over the Eileen Chang novella, her pen gliding over the piece of paper she had next to her for notes.

"Inara," Nandi said, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Stop that for a moment."

Inara looked up. "_Aiya huaile_."

"Yes, something's wrong. Always seems to be these days."

"It's not any of the usual difficulties, is it? What's going on?"

Nandi didn't want to tell her. "There's a Reaver ship. It's just coming into range of the fleet. Come with me, please."

Wide eyed, Inara stood, and her mother guided her over to the bed. Lifting the skirt, Nandi motioned with her head to her daughter. "Get under there." Inara dropped to her knees, sliding awkwardly underneath. She looked up at her mother. "Don't you come out," Nandi said sternly. "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear or what you think, you do not come out from under that bed – or make so much as a peep – until someone you recognize tells you that it's alright. You hear?"

Inara nodded. "Mama…"

"Shhh, _baobei_" Nandi said, dropping the blanket. Her daughter disappeared from view.

Nandi fell on her knees next to the bed and bowed her head.

* * *

Zoe, having determined she could not fight efficiently while carrying any more weapons than she already had, raced up to the bridge. "Wash," she said. "Wash, what's the status?"

The pilot glanced at her. "We can outrun them. But…"

"What?" She sank down next to him.

"But I don't think we'll have to."

"You think they're going to pass?"

Wash shook his head. "No. Atherton keeps asking about the positions of the ships at the back of the fleet. And about the slower ones closer up."

Zoe paled. "Is he planning on distracting them from Serenity by offering up the people we've sworn to protect?"

"If he tells me to run…" Wash said, shaking his head. "I'll have to run. If they chase us, we'll have to run. But whoever's in the back…"

Zoe closed her eyes, putting her hand on Serenity. "_Nee boo go guh, nee hwun chiou_," she whispered under her breath.

"Is this what our life is going to be now?" Wash asked, already knowing the answer. He gave a sigh. "Fantastic."

* * *

"I've never had this kind of food before…" Mal said hesitantly, looking down at his plate. "Are you sure there ain't no strawberries or apples?"

"Listen kid," Universe said. "We've been living on this stuff as long as we can remember. And if you live like us, you gotta eat like us."

"Hakuma Mawawa," Jayne said through the handful of the stuff he'd crammed in his mouth.

"It just…it looks so gross."

"It's a rare delicacy out here," Universe said. "Try it."

"Well," Mal said, scooting closer to the plate, "hakuna matata." He took a chunk of the foot and put it in his mouth. It tasted good. He swallowed. "Huh!"

Universe slapped him on the back. "There you go!"

"Hey," Jayne said to Universe. "We gonna show him the underground?"

"Ain't we already underground?" Mal asked.

"Oh-ho-ho," Universe said. "He means the spring."

"Spring as in season, the helical metal coil, or water source?"

"What did he say?" Jayne asked.

"Water source," Universe said, raising an eyebrow at Jayne.

"Hey, I didn't…"

"Ba ba!" Universe warned. "Lie down before you hurt yourself." He turned back to Mal. "Underground used to be this front for the Browncoats in the Unification War. The lights still work, but water's seeped through and there's a bunch of little water falls, and cool little pools you can bathe in. The downside is it's really hot and humid, but if you tug on some of the roots in the walls you can open up a new way for the water to flow. It's almost like a little shower!"

"Where's the water coming from?" Mal asked.

"Hera's an agricultural planet," Jayne said. "They've got plenty of water sources." And this way we can get water without interacting with people when we don't wanna. And when we wanna, there's the bars."

"So what you guys do…you just hang out?" Mal said. "No commitments?"

"No responsibilities, no worries," Universe said.

_This is what my life is going to be now,_ Mal thought. _Fantastic._

* * *

.

* * *

"Headed off on another salvage mission?" Nandi asked."

"Same as always," Zoe said solemnly. "Should be used to it by now, but that family's been with us nearly twenty years. And now we're vultures, picking off our dead friends for profit."

"I really hoped Atherton would snap out of this," Nandi said. "We've lost what, nineteen ships in four years? It's a wonder anyone is still flying with us."

"Some of 'em can't find any place else to go," Zoe said. "You know that." She looked away for a moment. "Truth be told I'm surprised you're still around."

"Well, this place is my home," Nandi said. "And you know how Inara is. She's developed this...this strong sense of duty. To the ship. You know she was readin' up on tricky maneuvers small vessels can do and is teaching them to the families when we land, to give them moreofa chance?"

"Heart of gold, that one." Zoe looked sad then. "She'd have made a good..."

"Yeah," Nandi said, touching her friend's arm. "Good luck. Hopefully this one'll have enough we can go to the core for a while."

"Kind of a sad thing to be wishin', ain't it?" Zoe said, sighing as she walked off.

Back in Shuttle One, River sat on Nandi's bed, watching as Inara studied. "You're going to be a companion. Like your mother."

"Yes," Inara said. "We've requested that Atherton goes to Sihnon, where I can take my examinations."

"The pilot maneuvers won't work," River said. "The following ships are still too slow."

Inara sighed. "That's what I fear."

"You think being a companion will save them. That going to the core to screen for clients, like your mother, means more time away from Reaver territory." River spoke with complete positivity.

"A Companion is a very highly regarded job," Inara said. "And I'd be good at it. I've got a figure, I've scored well on all the lessons that Mama has given me, and I can read people as well as anyone, except maybe you. Maybe there's more to entering into this job now...under Book there would have been no necessity to it, but there is no point in dwelling on the past. I can still see the universe while protecting my family."

"They're still with you, you know," River said.

Inara paused. "What?"

"Book. And Mal. They live in you. We can see them reflected in your actions. So can Atherton. It's why he is afraid of you."

Inara gave an amused snort. "Atherton's not afraid of anyone. He's got his little Saffron, Lawrence, the new baby, and there's still about fifty ships out there he hasn't sent to their deaths yet, that should give the_ kuh-ooh duh lao bao jurn_ another ten years or so of sitting on his backside and profiting from murder."

Nandi entered the shuttle, raising her eyebrows at the fierce expression on Inara's face. "Atherton has approved our request to go to the core. He wants to bring this latest ship intact and sell it as a whole."

Inara felt genuine happiness at Nandi's words. But later that night, as the ship changed course, she thought about how different life was from the way she would have expected - the way she would have predicted just three years ago.

* * *

"Headed to the bar?" Mal asked.

"They're putting out the old tomatoes into this cannon, gonna shoot 'em up for target practice," Jayne said. "Vera'll like that."

Universe ran a hand through his hair. "You wanna come, kid?"

Mal shook his head.

"Look, we've told you, your voice isn't cracking that much. Plus, it's natural. You're growing up. Nothing to be ashamed of in that."

"I know," Mal said. "But if I go, I'll worry my voice will crack. And no worries, right?"

"Not sure I like you flipping our logic back on us," Jayne said with a smirk, picking up Vera. "You want us to bring back pictures of pretty girls?"

Mal raised an eyebrow. "I'm good."

When they were gone, he wandered down to the water source, sweating within minutes as he stared up at the walls, watching the water, in varying intensities, run down into the pool at the corner. Pulling off his clothes, Mal stepped in. The water naturally only went up to his chest, but he leaned back, floating, staring up at the glistening walls.

He remembered when growing up meant more responsibility, when flying to a location meant evaluating whether the location was where you wanted to go, or where you ought to go. And thinking about what the difference was, and what it meant. When growing up was something that excited him, but scared him, because he would need to step into duties that would be left for him.

Turned out growing up wasn't any of those things. Growing up was going to the bar and sweet talking the owner into giving him some. Growing up was sneaking up behind a herd of cattle and startling them so they'd run and kick up dust while Universe or Jayne pick pocketed their herd manager. Growing up was floating in the cool waters that contrasted a humid room, making him feel at peace with himself. It was getting easier. _No worries._

No rules.

F'course, it wasn't what he'd thought he'd be doing three years ago. But here he was. There was no point in dwelling on the past. With the resources here, the stability, the lack of rules and lack of fear, he could see himself spending another ten years right here. At least.

* * *

.

* * *

Eighteen.

Inara was a legal adult in the eyes of the 'verse. She'd been working as a Companion for three years, but the House Priestess as well as her mother had to supervise when she screened clients, and had to sign her forms during her yearly checkup. Now she was completely on her own, if one ignored the fact that she still shared a shuttle with her mother.

The other shuttle was sitting unused, but she knew better than to ask for it. She wouldn't want it anyway. It was the shuttle Atherton and Wash had flown the day they'd failed to rescue Book and Mal. And Inara cherished the nights she spent with her mother; they were so few and far between now, with both of them working.

Mal would have turned eighteen just two days before. Inara had spent that day in solitude.

By now, he would be Captain, most likely. What was certain was Serenity's fleet would not be half the size it was five years ago. What was certain was Inara would not be practically worshipped by the survivors as someone who was trying to save them. What was certain was Zoe wouldn't be slowly turning gray under the stress of seeing the ship she loved go to ruin by Atherton and Saffron, who's older son was costing them nearly all of their blood money in medical bills and whose daughter seemed to be afraid of them. And Zoe and Inara wouldn't have to be threatened with death to keep Saffron's latest secret - the child she was due to give birth to in a month's time was not Atherton's, but Monty's, captain of another ship they crossed paths with on a semi-regular basis.

Even if Atherton was somehow still Captain, if Mal was alive Inara knew it wouldn't be so hard. She had plenty of friends on the ship, in the fleet, and at the Companion houses, but she'd never thought of anyone but the late Malcolm as her best friend.

Inara lifted the shuttle's curtain to stare out at the stars. Mal always liked looking at them, and they were nearing Hera...this would be the last night's sky he'd ever seen. As the ship made a slight bank to the left, Inara gasped quietly; certain that a cluster of stars came together to look quite like the boyish face she missed so much. When she blinked, it was gone. She sighed.

_"What do you see, when you look at the stars?"_

_"I see all the things I want to see. Even if they seem impossible."_

"Oh Mal," she said softly. "I hope you're proud of me."

* * *

"You ever just look up at those lights?" Universe asked. They were experiencing the rare occasion of a quiet, clear night that no town person had decided to take a moonlit walk along the path near their home, so they were outside, laying on their backs in the grass. "They're like lots of suns trying to do the work of the planet's sun, but aren't up to the task. That's why it's so much darker when they're around."

"They're just stars," Jayne said. "Get close enough to any of them and they're just like any sun."

"Okay," Universe said, "no creativity points for you. Mal? What do you see?"

"Fireflies," Mal said, staring skyward. "Millions of them. Cruising through the sky…free…" He stared, unable to look away. "Someone once told me that each light is a Firefly making its own way."

Jayne snorted. "They don't move. They're stars."

Universe looked at Mal, amused. "The stars are actually ships. Good one, Mal." He reached over to slap the boy's - new adult's - shoulder, laughing.

"Yeah," Mal said. "It's pretty dumb, huh?"

"Look at that one," Jayne said suddenly. "It's moving."

"A shooting star?" Universe squinted. "Naw. Say Mal, you want a ship in the sky, that one there's a ship. Can't tell what type, but that's one star that's making its way." Universe smiled over at Mal. "Don't feel too bad about us laughing at you. I think it's fascinating that we can all look at the same sky and each see a different thing."

Mal got up and walked away.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter is my telling of "The Madness of King Scar," "Shadowland," and "Endless Night" in the musical version of The Lion King. So the first part, well, it was hard for me to write, since I can hardly stand to listen to that song, it upsets me so much (I know it's supposed to be upsetting, so I'm not knocking the song, but…it definitely did its job.)**

**Next chapter brings about some changes!**

* * *

"How is Saffron doing?" Wash asked. His heart wasn't exactly in his throat, but he _was_ genuinely curious.

"A little better, I suppose," Atherton said. "We are not sure if she will lose the baby or not. I needed a break."

"A…a break?" Wash raised his eyebrows. "From your ill wife?"

"Yes, she's been getting quite demanding," Atherton said, sinking down in his seat. "Oh Wash."

"Oh what?" he said, trying his best to mimic the captain's tone.

"Why is my life so difficult?"

"Well, you're setting yourself up for quite the long 'break'…"

"My only son is sickly," Atherton said. "My daughter has violent mood swings. And now I may lose my wife and the child."

"Well, you and Saffron are getting older," Wash said. "Not…not that you don't both look fabulous, but we live in a stressful environment. It might be affecting…"

"Nonesense," Atherton said. "She's just not trying hard enough to give me healthy children."

"I'm sorry," Wash said, "do you not love her?"

"I suppose. But what I would certainly love is to have a healthy child. And you're right – you're quite right. Saffron is nearly _thirty_."

"Thirty isn't _that_ old," Wash said. "I was only saying, there are a number of factors that could…"

"Kings have mistresses," Atherton said thoughtfully. "Why shouldn't captains?"

"Ah, uh, I don't…"

"Atherton?"

Atherton turned. "Inara." His eyebrows shot up. "_Inara_. Whatever can I do for you?"

"Atherton, there are more Reaver ships on the radar. They are far away and aren't heading toward us, but…Atherton, these are people we are talking about here. That keep getting sacrificed."

"Mmmm, people," Atherton nodded. "Yes, yes."

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Inara said. "This ship was perfectly profitable beforehand, when Book was…"

"_What did you just say?_"

"Saying his name doesn't make a difference, Atherton!" Inara said. "All I'm saying is, there are legal and ethical ways to make a living. We don't have to continue to…"

"Inara," Atherton said, his tone changed. "Inara, sweet Inara." He moved toward her. "How is your work going?"

Inara looked suspicious. "Considering you refuse to go to the core until I am being threatened with decommission, I don't believe that you truly care."

"Well, see, I have a sort of…proposition for you," Atherton said. "You know you were likely to become the next ship's Madam, so unfortunate that you are not, by the way. As you know, I am without a healthy heir, one who can fly this ship across space after I am gone. And you, you are a young, strong woman and I a young, strong man."

"Captain," Wash said, looking nervous, "There is something quite interesting on the radar, come look!"

Inara was slowly stepping backwards as Atherton came toward her. "Our children, well, they would be handsome, strong, intelligent…"

"They'd probably have some of your traits too," Wash said. He frowned, confused, when the comment didn't garner a response.

"Get away from me," Inara said, her posture changing to defensive.

"Oh, Inara," Atherton said. "You're on _my _ship, you know. You should be honored that I've chosen you to be my mistress."

"I'm not yours to _choose_," Inara said fiercely. "I'm not having your children, Atherton. You have…you have three. You don't just get to decide that they aren't good enough for you."

Wash jumped up in another desperate attempt to distract the captain. "_If it hadn't been for Cotton Eyed Joe, I'd-a been married long time 'go. Where did ya come from? Where did ya go? Where did you come from, Cotton Eyed Joe?"_ He hopped awkwardly on one foot as he'd seen the dance done, knowing full well he was botching it and realizing this probably wasn't the most appropriate song to use for this situation. "Um..._who let the dogs out?"_

Atherton either didn't hear Wash or chose to ignore him. He had backed Inara up against the wall, standing close enough to her that the young woman was clearly uncomfortable. "We will have a whole pack of little Athertons," he said. "And I will be immortalized. The family that has prided themselves so on piloting this ship for five generations has been wiped out, but I…_I_ will continue." He gave Inara another smile, tilting his head to the side.

"Don't touch me," Inara said fiercely.

"Book wouldn't like this!" Wash blurted, trying something new.

"_What did you just say?_" Atherton asked furiously, turning his head to look at Wash. Inara seized the opportunity and thrust her knee upward. Atherton crumpled and yowled in pain as the companion rushed past him and out the door.

"_I always get what I want, Inara!" _He shouted at her. "_I always get what I want!_"

Tian, the old, terribly sick doctor, Zoe, River, and several passengers had heard Atherton's threats and appeared from their sleeping quarters, looking over at Inara sprinting across the catwalk. Nandi appeared from her shuttle. "Inara! What's gone on?"

Inara stopped in front of her mother. "I'm leaving."

"Inara, what did he do?"

"It isn't what he did, Mama," Inara said. "It's that he did it. Tried to. Said things. He's gone mad." She took her mother's hands. "When we land. I'm taking the extra shuttle. I have to find help." She shook her head. "There is no other choice. I can't stay here and wait for the day I'll have to watch everyone die. And I've hardly spent a cent of my money, other than for necessities. I could pay someone well they could…they could do s_omething_."

"Inara," Zoe said, rushing up to her. "Don't take responsibility for everyone. All of us do what we can. This is too large a burden for a young girl."

"You've been shouldering it for seven years," Inara said. "I'm the next generation. I'm of age. I must go. I have no choice. Our home is being destroyed." She turned to her mother. "Will you help me prepare the shuttle?"

Nandi nodded wordlessly, turning to lead Inara to the small vessel. The companions were halfway through throwing anything of value into small trunks when they realized that Zoe, River, the passengers, and Wash had followed them in.

"I…" Inara was confused. "Hello."

"Wherever this journey leads you," said Maylin, one of the fatherless teenagers that had come on board Serenity the day Book had died, "let our prayers for you be your guide. No matter where you go."

The others made sounds of agreement. "Will you return?" asked Tian.

"Yes," Inara said. "With whatever I can find. I'm not running, I promise you all that. This is my family." She turned to her mother. "Hang in there," she said. "Until I'm back."

Nandi curled her arms around her daughter. "You make me proud, Inara."

Inara hugged her mother tighter. When they parted, she turned, looking at the cockpit of the shuttle. The others looked solemnly in the direction that she did. "Be safe," Wash said. "Be safe."

Inara nodded. "Hold on. All of you."

She watched them all leave, noting the approving glance she was given from Zoe. If circumstances were different, Inara might have swelled with pride at the woman's approval. But approval wasn't what was needed. What she sought was _help_.

But what scared her almost as much as her journey was the adoring gazes she was getting from the people she was trying to help.

She was no heroine.

She was desperate.

* * *

Atherton stormed into Saffron's bedroom, where the pregnant woman was lying on her side, her finger stirring the glass of water on her bedside.

"Saffron," he said, "that child will live."

"That's the plan," Saffron said to him.

"Not the plan," Atherton told her. "The outcome. The doctor said the child is male. _H_ewill be my heir. If he survives your illness, he's strong and worthy. _He_ will be the next Captain."

* * *

Mal walked until he reached territory that he wasn't as familiar with. This was the farthest North he could ever remember going with Universe and Jayne, but he remembered the cliff that was there, that dropped nearly one hundred feet into a rocky ditch. Reaching the cliff, he sat down, legs dangling off the edge, and stared up at the sky.

For the first time in his life, he didn't see fireflies. He didn't see freedom, or the unified struggle of the common man. There was no inspiration to be found in that sky. Looking at it made him feel dead inside.

For years he'd managed to put almost all his thoughts of the old life out of his mind, but they'd never gone away completely. Now, seven years after he'd caused his father's death and on a night that was just as clear as that fateful day, the pain was like a brand new wound. Or rather, like a seven year old wound that had constantly been ripped open and never allowed to heal, even if it would form a scar.

Mal let out a heavy sigh. His father, the wonderful captain who would meet his end in a dusty, dry valley. His mother, who must be missing him so much and loathing the one who had been the cause, not even knowing it was her own son. Inara, who by now had likely found so many other friends, had likely gone on so many other exciting adventures…who was probably as indifferent to the thought of him as she was indifferent to the men she was likely servicing, like her mother had done.

His life should be better than theirs. He had no rules, no responsibilities, no worries…but no real happiness either. He loved Universe and Jayne, but they failed to make him truly let go of his past. It was behind him – it was for sure _behind him_ – but he kept looking back at it, urging it along, never ready to let himself forget.

It was like a nightmare he was living over and over in an endless night.

"Sun ought to rise eventually, right?" Mal asked no one in particular. There was, of course, no answer. "So I'm alone," he lamented. "What am I even supposed to do now? Father? I miss your advice. I miss _you._" He closed his eyes, then opened them suddenly, looking up at the stars and releasing his pain verbally, shouting out into the black. "_I thought you'd always be there for me! But you're not. You're not._"

* * *

River was curled up on her bed, lightly dozing, keeping an ear open for the Reaver alarm. Usually it was Zoe that called out the warning, sometimes Wash, if Atherton wasn't up on the bridge when the ship was spotted, and, once or twice, Inara or Tian. But things had been quiet for a few days, the savages that followed Serenity like sharks used to follow ships on Earth-that-was staying a somewhat comfortable distance back. She could rest easy tonight.

Suddenly, River jumped up off the bed, stumbling across the room, thrown off by a sudden cry that she heard as loudly and clearly as if she herself had made it. But she hadn't. Whirling around, confused, the girl's eyes danced around her room.

There was no one there. River knew that – her room was small and uncluttered, the door shut firmly and the tiny window unable to be opened. But it seemed as if the cry – perhaps – had come from near the window. River moved toward it cautiously. There was no other sound, but she could feel a clench in her heart, an emotional ache that she couldn't shake, nor could she understand its origin. It had to be coming from someone else.

River closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against the cold window, trying to feel whoever it was, listening to the echoes of the voice that pounded in her head.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and she jumped back. She tested the presence she thought she felt against what she knew, and her jaw dropped slightly. "_Mal_?"

She gasped, stumbling backward now, finding herself sitting on the bed, hands gripping the mattress, her jaw unhinged and her eyes wide. "He's alive?"

_He's alive?_

As she overcame the shock, River raised her head, a smile coming over her face.

"It's time."


	12. Chapter 12

**This was one of the first chapters I wrote back when I was drafting the skeleton of this fic. I've had to tweak it along the way, but I'm so excited to be able to finally publish! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I'm beyond thrilled that you all are enjoying this.**

* * *

Jayne sat at the bar, calling for a drink. While waiting for it to arrive, he let his eyes wander. It was the usual crowd, more or less, fellow scoundrels, gun enthusiasts…though what they had to be enthused about, he didn't know. None of them had anything like Vera and in this bar, a gun like that was fully appreciated. He set the gun up on the countertop, an intimidating visual.

Ah, here was someone different. The woman who had entered from the side door and was making her way up to the far end of the bar was one he'd never seen before. She was probably a good ten, fifteen years younger than him, but that wasn't why they'd never crossed paths. Her hair was done nicely, her clothing was expensive, and while the clothes were more on the conservative side for her profession – and though he wasn't rich enough for any personal experience whatsoever – Jayne Cobb knew a Companion when he saw one.

She probably had money on her, he figured. Mebbe just came from a client, and they'd pay well, especially for a pretty one like her. Jayne inched closer, glancing at Universe, who began to move in the opposite direction. Jayne looked back at his target. He could lift considerable money off her considering the time it took to pickpocket. And considering they'd had a helluva time convincing Mal that stealing money fit perfectly into their "no worries" motto, they were still, most of the time, two people working to gain money enough for three.

Jayne took his drink and backed slightly off from the counter, inching down the line toward the young woman. She was glancing at the crowd too, mostly at the best dressed and the scarred. An interesting difference, Jayne thought. But he didn't care who she was looking at long as it wasn't him.

Just a few feet behind her now, Jayne waited. Universe was chugging his drink, and slammed the glass down on the counter. It shattered. He belched loudly.

Jayne made his move – and found nails digging into his hand and fierce eyes boring into him. "Keep your hands off me," she said fiercely.

"Hey there, sweet 'art," Jane said, his free hand lifting a small package from a concealed pocket in her dress. "I was just-"

She lunged at his other hand, hers clamping around it at the wrist. "Hey now, little lady…" Jane spun, attempting to pull his wrist away. It didn't work. She spun with him, as if she'd fought like this before, and the rest of the bargoers cleared out the same side door the woman had entered from, like usual, not wanting to interfere in a fight involving Jayne.

Usually Jayne could win a fight on brute strength, but this woman was throwing off his game. She'd initiated the fight – a rare occurrence when Jayne was involved, and she was too quick for him to gain the upper hand. She regained control of her hands and used one to clamp onto the parcel he'd lifted, the other, her thumb and forefinger straightened, went for his eyes.

Outside the bar, Mal was throwing darts at a target painted on the wall with a couple of the regular drunks that were at the establishment literally every time he decided to come along. A few more exited the bar and picked up the ones that had fallen from the target, intent on joining the game. Upon hearing a yowl that sounded like Jayne, Mal grew concerned, and raced inside to find his friend doing battle with a…a woman! She was dressed nicely, looking like the last person that would be involved in a bar fight, and yet was giving the big man a run for his money. Jayne was always embarrassed if Mal or Universe had to help with a fight, but he had his hand on what looked like could be money, and they certainly needed it right about now.

"Hey!" Mal said, running across the room. Jayne and the woman were locked, their momentum spinning them, knocking over chairs, neither really making progress, and then the woman's knee flew up, hitting Jayne solidly between the legs. He howled, and Mal jumped forward, grabbing the woman by the upper arms from behind and pulling her away from the gunman.

"Get her, Mal!" Universe shouted. "Do the eye thing!" He jumped off the bar stool and knelt beside Jayne, slapping his shoulder enthusiastically. "You guys always bring me the very best violence."

Mal tried spinning the woman in a circle, hoping she didn't have good backward balance, but she threw her own weight backward, almost before Mal could react, and he tripped over one of the fallen chairs, stumbling back with too much momentum to prevent himself from slamming into the wall. The woman spun, her reflexes surprisingly fast, to face him and her hands went to his throat as she raised a knee, prepared to do Mal in the way she'd reduced Jayne to a squeaking, useless mass against the bar.

Her eyes flashed, staring Mal down, unblinking. And suddenly, now that he'd seen her face, Mal's expression changed to one of complete shock. It had been six years, he was looking in the eyes of a grown woman, but she was so recognizable it was as if she looked exactly the same as the day he'd left.

"_Inara?"_

She released his throat and backed up instinctively, looking wary and surprised. Mal's mouth hung open slightly as he stepped forward. "Is…is it really you?"

She backed up another step, somehow remembering that a chair leg was in her way and lifting her foot gracefully over it as she put some distance between herself and Mal. "Who are you?" she asked, cocking her head.

He hadn't realized that she might not recognize him as easily as he had her. "It's _me_," he said. "Mal."

She looked as if that was the last name she'd expected to hear, and then her expression changed. It seemed as if she wanted to believe him…she squinted, searching his face, and then her eyes widened in shock. "_Wah_!"

"_Wah!_" he echoed as he stepped toward her and she ran into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and spun them in a circle, both of them making incoherent excited sounds. Setting her back down, Mal held Inara at arm's length. "How-"

"_How_!" she said, her eyes bright, her fingers digging into his arm. "_Run-tse duh fwotzoo_, Mal, where did you come from?"

"Where…I was…" he started laughing. "Well this is a bang-up day! It's great to see you! What are you doing here?"

"What am _I_ doing here? She said, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Hey!"

Mal and Inara hadn't noticed Universe walked up to them. "Mal, what's going on here?"

"Universe," Mal said. "This is Inara. She's my best friend."

"You're…friends with her?" Universe said incredulously.

"Yeah," Mal said. He looked over at where Jayne still lay. "Jayne, get over here." Jayne got to his feet, grumbling. "And give her back the parcel," Mal added. "Inara, this is Jayne. Jayne, Inara."

Jayne frowned, and cleared his throat upon Mal's glare. "Nice to meet you."

"Hold on one sweet second here," Universe said. "Let me get this whole thing straight. You know her, she knows you? But he wants to rob her, and she wants to blind him. And so…we're just…we're just going to be okay with this?" He threw his hands in the air. "Did I miss something?"

"Relax, Universe," Mal said, holding a hand out to settle him.

"Oh Mal," Inara said, smiling broadly, "wait until everyone finds out you've been here all this time! Your mother…"

"Don't tell her!" Mal said sharply.

Inara took a step back. "What?"

"No one needs to know."

"Of course they need to know!" Inara said. "Everyone thinks you're dead!"

"Wait…" Mal cocked his head. "They do?"

Inara nodded. "Atherton told us about Serenity Valley."

Mal supposed he would have. "What else did he tell you?"

Inara was shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. _You're alive_." Her eyes widened. "And that means…_Serenity_. She's yours, you're Captain!"

"You're captain of that Firefly that came in last night?" Universe said.

"No, I'm not," Mal said.

"Yes, he is!" Inara said. "His father, Book, he…he always intended to leave the ship to you. It was written. It'd be your job to protect..." She looked at Universe. "He was so excited about it, too."

"That was a long time ago," Mal said. "I'm not Captain of a ship."

"Mal!" Inara turned to Universe and Jayne. "Could you two give us a minute alone?"

"I ain't goin' nowhere," Jayne said. "We're buddies, the three of us are."

Mal cleared his throat. "Could you guys excuse us?"

"Heh," Jayne scoffed, turning with Universe to leave the bar.

"I'd say you'd learn to love 'em," Mal said, watching them go. He sank down on a bench near the window. "But Jayne can be pretty horrific." When there was no answer, he turned. Inara had her arms folded, staring at the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I've spent the last six years thinking the Reavers had killed you," Inara said, looking up at him. "Not just dead…but at the hands of those monsters…" she shook her head. "Mal, an hour ago…_ten minutes ago_ I thought you were dead. Everyone thinks you're dead, it's…" She dropped down on the bench next to him. "You have no idea how much it would mean to everyone to know you're alive. You have no idea how much it means to _me_."

"Hey, it's okay," Mal said. "I'm here. I'm fine. I haven't seen a Reaver in six years."

She closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder. "I've really missed you."

He lowered his head to hers, reaching over to rest his hand on her knee and feeling her hand come to cover his own. "I missed you too."


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it's been a bit since my last update, hopefully it won't be as long for the next one! As always, thank you to those who are reading and reviewing!**

* * *

The walk back to the underground usually felt a bit never – ending, especially later on in the day when the shadows grew longer and there was a bit of a chill in the air. Tonight, however, the little door to the pod seemed to appear after mere moments, as if the two mile walk with Inara had been erased from memory. Mal could not recollect the majority of what they'd talked about – or if they'd talked that much at all. He was distracted by how she looked in the sunset light, it played off her skin and jewelry almost deliberately, as if to remind Mal _she's here._

He didn't need to be reminded. The fact that Inara Serra was walking beside him was almost overwhelming. He'd longed for his friend so often over the years, and had not once believed that he might see her again. And just as her presence had had been familiar – and comforting if need be – when they were carefree, careless children, it was so now. Mal's feelings of emptiness that had been plaguing him as of late were no longer weighing on him, but dancing around at the corners of his thoughts, allowing room to delight in walking once again beside his best friend, just as they had when they were young.

But everytime he wanted to speak, to ask her about how things were at home, the emptiness, the guilt, and all the other bad feelings returned to the forefront, mixing with the thoughts of Inara and leaving Mal sick to his stomach. _There is so much she doesn't know._ There was so much he wanted to tell her; she used to be his confidante, his secret keeper…_but I don't see a way to confess my guilt without losing her._

* * *

As Mal led her through his tiny home, Inara's eyes darted about, taking in every detail, trying to picture her friend growing up here. She was having such difficulty wrapping her head around the idea that all this time, through the mourning and the fear and the desperation and the loathing of a world that it almost seemed a kindness Mal was no longer a part of, the boy had been alive, spending his days in this very room, heating himself through his feet through this peculiar floor. While Inara had been growing up, learning responsibility, making sacrifices, and struggling to do the duty that she thought Mal would have wanted, to honor him, he had been growing up, too. He'd been engaging in petty theft, eating strange looking food, and, as he was telling her now, swimming in some pool like they always loved to do when they were children.

_All this time._

She still couldn't believe that he was next to her. Until an hour ago it had been impossible to ever lay eyes on him again. And as dire as things were at home, Inara almost felt as if everything was alright, if only for tonight. As if all the stars and planets had aligned to create a universal harmony, just once.

"Come down here," Mal said, taking her hand and moving through a small passageway, tugging her along like when they were children. They partly walked, partly slid, then jumped the last two feet to a surprisingly large, surprisingly well lit cavern, the walls glistening with water, some spurting, others dripping their way down to where the water all collected as if the walls were crying. The room was almost uncomfortably hot, but Inara was too busy staring in wonder to notice that she was already starting to break out in a light sweat.

"Isn't this a great place?" Mal asked.

Inara gave a nod and a "wow," and Mal launched into an explanation of how the aquifer worked, how it didn't drain the full supply, and he gestured around as he spoke, pointing out various streams and how and where they connected with each other. Inara was listening, a skill she was quite good at, but she found herself watching Mal, tuning out what he was saying and just taking _him_ in. _You're alive. I still cannot believe you're alive._

Mal shifted, pointing at another spot on the wall, and Inara, jolted back to full awareness, turned to look. "And this is all safe to drink?"

Mal responded by walking to one of the streams and cupping his hands under it. Inara chose another a few feet away, smiling as she watched her hands fill with the cool liquid. She raised them to her mouth, smiling at Mal before closing her eyes and draining the makeshift cup of water.

She turned again to Mal, who was staring off to the side. She knew the look on his face from some of her clients – it was the look of one who was conflicted and ashamed. The smile faded from her face, and her eyebrows slanted downward. _He's holding back. He's hiding a piece of himself from me. But what could it possibly be? What haunts him? Why doesn't he want to go back and be the greatest Firefly captain there ever was?_

She opened her mouth to say something to him, but Mal didn't give her a chance, saying, "remember when we used to play in any pool we could find?"

Inara gave a little laugh. "Yes, of course I do. We had great fun."

Mal's expression grew slightly mischevious, and before Inara could process his intentions, he lunged forward, and though she tried to jump out of his way, they collided, and fell backwards into the pool together. Inara gasped, unable to get a full breath before her head submerged, Mal's momentum pushing her several feet under, and she kicked her way to the surface, gasping for breath before realizing that she could touch the bottom. She spun around to find Mal floating on his back, grinning at her. She jumped forward, the water slowing her down but getting her close enough to push his head under. She then spun, placed her hands, and launched herself out of the pool. Mal, laughing, was right behind her, and when she turned to push him back in, he grabbed her hands and pulled her with him.

"_Mal!_" she shrieked just before she hit the water. She pulled her hands out of his and put a foot on his chest, pushing him away so she could get out of the pool. This time she made it, spinning around and pushing him back before he could pull her down with him. With Mal in the water and her standing by the side, Inara's mischievous grin widened and she took off running. By the time she got to the door of the pod, Mal was right behind her, charging, trying to knock her off balance just as they'd done when they were children.

* * *

They raced out, under the stars now, Mal gaining ground, legs pumping, laughing when he caught up to Inara and pulled her into a back hug. She laughed with him, allowing him to lift her off the ground and spin them in a circle. Then she took a step backward, holding her arms out and staring up at the moon. The ground just in front of her sloped downward; the path led farther away from the bar.

"Want to dance?" She asked playfully, smiling at him, dropping her arms.

Mal laughed. "You know how poor my dancing skills are. They have not improved since I've been here, I assure you."

"Do you remember how I used to dance if I didn't know the steps?" she asked, putting her arms back out and spinning slowly. Mal stepped a little closer and put his own arms out, not remembering the last time – even with Hakuna Matata – that he'd been this playful. So he spun, his waterlogged coat and her waterlogged skirt flinging little droplets everywhere as if they were human sprinklers. It was getting darker and he wasn't close enough to see Inara's face, but he was sure she was smiling.

Then she tripped over her skirt, and as she pitched forward, Mal grabbed her around the waist from behind to help prevent a fall. Her reflexes as fast as they had been when they were children – faster even – Inara balanced, turned around, and used _his_ slight unbalance and the downhill slope to push him over, giggling playfully. But he was bigger than her now, weighed more, and he flipped them over so she was underneath him. He grinned playfully. "Pinned ya."

"For once in your life." She rolled her eyes as they both laughed, close enough to see each other's smiles now…and then her face grew serious. He was still smiling down at her, triumphantly having finally won the game, when she leaned upward and put her lips on his. It only lasted a second.

Mal lifted himself up on the length of his arms and looked at her with surprise. She simply smiled and lay back, eyes locked on his. She was looking at him in a way that he didn't think he'd ever been looked at and in a way that he'd certainly never gotten from _her_. He wasn't sure what to think. _She was his childhood best friend? Why had she kissed him?_

These past few hours had felt so familiar, so reminiscent of when they were children and there wasn't loss and there wasn't regret things had not yet changed, and they could just playfully and innocently run around and stir up trouble and goof off.

But it _wasn't_ years ago. Things _had_ changed.

They weren't children anymore.

Upon this realization, Mal gave Inara a shy smile. Hesitantly, he leaned down, his lips hovering a mere inch above hers for a moment or two. Then he kissed her.

He'd never thought about kissing her, certainly not lying half on top of her in the grass, but for some reason it didn't seem strange to him. She seemed to agree; her hands came up to his face and when their lips broke apart she pushed her nose against the side of his affectionately. They looked at each other again, faces nearly touching, both of them absorbing this change in their relationship. Mal was surprised that she looked just as nervous as he felt. _Isn't she supposed to exude confidence? No matter what? What does this mean?_

He gave her a small, unsure smile, and her earlier happy, content expression returned as she gazed up at him...did he dare call her expression "loving?" She lifted her head slightly to kiss him again, and he kissed her back strongly, using the space between her head and the ground as a place for one of his hands, the other going to her waist.

And there was no guilt, no pain, no emptiness, and no regret.

There was only Inara.

Mal felt like "loving" was indeed the correct word.

* * *

"_Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings? The world, for once, in perfect harmony with all its living things? Can you feel the love tonight? You needn't look too far. Stealing through the night's uncertainties, love is where they are."_


	14. Chapter 14

**New chapter! Just a short bit here, so I can get full on into Riverfiki mode next time!**

* * *

"Hell of a place, ain't it?" Mal asked, closing the door to the pod and dropping his wet coat over one of the chairs.

"It's peaceful," Inara admitted. She turned and looked curiously at him. "Tell me something."

"Course."

"If you've been alive all this time, why didn't you return to Serenity?"

Mal shifted uncomfortably. "Needed some time to myself, I guess. Not be bound by anything, held to anything. There's _freedom_ out here. It's great."

Inara pursed her lips, looking down. "You know, we've really needed you at home."

"No one needs me."

"_Yes_." Inara said. "We do. You're our captain."

"Inara." Mal sounded irritated now. "I'm not Captain. Atherton is."

"Mal," Inara said quietly. "He…" her hesitance sparked a bit of concern, and Mal looked slightly alarmed. "He takes us out. Far. Even if there are warnings."

"What?"

"The smaller ships, and the slower ones that would trail behind a bit…Reavers have taken some. They leave no survivors, and Atherton comes through and salvages the ships to sell for a huge profit. Everything's destroyed, most of the ships have been sold, others have left, Mal, if you don't do something soon, everyone will be dead and the Reavers are going to take Serenity!"

"Inara, I can't go back."

"Why not?"

Mal looked angry. "You wouldn't understand."

"I've had six years of training in a fine program, Mal, what exactly do you think I wouldn't understand?"

"_Look_," Mal said, putting his hands on her arms. "Sometimes bad things happen, and there's just nothing you can do about it. So why worry?"

Inara backed away from him. "Because…because those people…they're your responsibility! They're your family!"

"They're your family too," Mal said. "And you left!"

"You're being such a hypocrite!" Inara said. "I left to get help. I left to find anyone that could make things better. And I found _you_. Can't you stop for thirty seconds and realize you're our only hope?"

Mal stared at her angrily for a couple seconds. "You know, it…I…"

"What?" She said, her eyes narrowing.

His breath came out through his teeth before he got himself under control. He pressed his lips together. "Nothin'." Turning on his heel, he headed toward the door.

Inara ran up and jumped in front of him, blocking his way out. "What happened to you?" she asked after a long silence. "You're not the Malcolm Reynolds I remember."

"I suppose you're right," Mal said. "Satisfied?"

"No," Inara said sadly, shaking her head. "Disappointed."

"You know," Mal said, stepping around her and opening the door. "You're starting to sound like my father."

"Good," Inara said. "Someone has to."

Mal whirled around, the door slamming into the wall. "Listen, you've got a lot of nerve prancing in here after all these years and telling me how I have to live my life!"

"_Prancing in here_?" Inara said. Her hands were on her hips. "I'm not the one who walked out on everyone!"

"No, you're the one who whores herself out to lonely, pathetic rich men."

"Companions need a certain number of clients per quarter to remain registered," Inara said, her eyes flashing. "My job requires that Serenity leave the more dangerous parts of the verse on occasion and travel to core planets where I can work and the people can rest easy for a few days! You've got no call to make me ashamed of trying to keep people safe, something that's _supposed_ to be your job. It's what I thought you would have wanted! At least I'm doing _something._"

"Is that what we were back there?" Mal said. "A job? Did you decide that bedding me was the way to get me to come back? Was I the _something_ you had to do?"

"_Mal!_"

He'd gone too far. He could tell by the look on her face and the tears that were quickly forming in her eyes. Mal's existing levels of anger at Inara were being overpowered by anger directed at himself. "You…you don't even know what I've been through!"

She pressed her lips together, taking a step toward him. "I can't know unless you tell me!"

Mal stepped backwards into the threshold of the door, pointing a finger at Inara as if she wouldn't know who he was talking to otherwise. "Forget it."

He grabbed his coat and glared as he turned to exit, leaving Inara alone in the pod, staring after him angrily. "_Fine_."


	15. Chapter 15

Mal didn't stop striding away from the compound until his shins started to hurt from the quickened stride. He turned around, glaring in the direction from which he'd come. "She's wrong," he said firmly, turning around again and resuming his walk, desperate, once again, to put distance between himself and his past. "I can't go back." _What would it prove, anyway? It won't change anything. You can't change the past._ He stopped. Clouds had swept across the sky, possibly bringing a second bout of rain. There were no little glinting stars. No little Fireflies to remind him of his freedom. It seemed fitting. He wasn't free. Nothing about him was free. It hadn't been for a long time. Inara had, briefly, reminded him of what it was like to not worry – ironic, since he'd been living under that very credo for years – but that was all he supposed he'd ever get. Temporary reprieves.

Mal looked up at the slate gray sky. "You said they'd always be there for me," he shouted, painfully, into the air. He looked down. "I didn't believe you." _But I thought you – you would always be here. But you're not. _"And it's my fault." Mal dropped to his knees. "It's my fault."

"My fault. She's wrong. Can't change the past. The past has happened, set in stone."

Mal jumped at the voice, whirling around to scan the trees nearby for the source. A girl was bounding toward him, much like a deer would leap through the fields, and she was doing it silently. As she neared Mal, she jumped up, grabbed a low tree branch, and gracefully swung herself up. Peering down at him, she laughed, reaching up and shaking the branches above her, dropping some leaves to the ground. "_Nay she, con, me-ya wa pin mai yo!"_

Mal raised his eyebrows, then started off in a new direction, figuring the girl seemed to like her new perch and would stay put. He was wrong. Mere seconds after turning away, he glanced behind him and discovered her only a pace or two behind. "_Nay she, con, me-ya…"_

"Come on, will you cut it out?" He said forcefully, turning to face her.

She looked genuinely confused, furrowing her brow. "I _can't_ cut it out." She held her puzzled expression another moment, and then broke into a childish grin. "It'd grow right back!"

As she cackled to herself, Mal let out an irritated sigh and turned away again. He could tell by the giggles that he was still being followed. "Creepy girl. Would you stop following me?" The girl quickened her pace, so she was bounding along right next to Mal. "Who are you anyway?" he grumbled under his breath.

Suddenly the girl was in front of him. "That's not the question."

"It's the question I'm asking!"

She shook her head. "The question is who are _you_?"

Mal let out a breath. "To be honest? I thought I knew, but…now I'm not so sure."

She nodded as if that made sense. "You forgot. But don't worry. I know who you are."

Mal was startled. "You do?"

She nodded, then beckoned to him with a finger. "Shhh, it's a secret."

Mal got closer, and the girl put a hand up to her mouth near his ear. "_Nay she, con, me-ya pin mai yo!"_

"Ugh," Mal said, rolling his eyes. "What is that even supposed to mean?"

She blinked. "It means 'you are a woman, and I'm not'!" Throwing her hands up in the air, she spun, laughing to herself.

Mal started off again. "I'm sorry. I think you're a mite confused."

The girl popped up in front of him. "Wrong! I'm not the one who's confused." She folded her arms, looking at Mal as if he was amusing. "You don't even know who you are!"

Mal folded his arms, unintentionally mimicking her pose. "And I suppose you know?"

"Sure do. You're Captain Book's boy."

Mal blinked, staring at her, going white as a sheet in the two seconds it took before the girl gave him a smile and said, "bye!"

She took off, yards ahead instantly. Mal, the hair standing up on the back of his neck, took off after her. "No, wait!" He tripped over a stone in the middle of the field, almost going down, staring at the figure ahead of him. "Wait, River!" In his shock and urgency, he'd remembered her name. "Wait, would you come back?"

He found her sitting on a larger rock, staring out into a field of tall grass. "You knew my father."

She closed her eyes. "I know your father."

"River," Mal said. "You must remember. He died. A long time ago."

She shook her head, opening her eyes and looking at him, the wind picking up and blowing her hair backward. "You're wrong. He's alive."

"No," Mal said. "I saw him. He was…he's dead."

River closed her eyes again, shifting her weight and then standing up on the rock. She put her arms out. The wind picked up, swirled around them. The clouds gravitated toward one another, some stars appearing.

Mal looked up. The stars had never looked like this before…his jaw dropped as a new cluster formed, shifting slowly into place. It was the face of his father, made up of those little Fireflies.

"Mal."

Mal jumped, looking over at River. The voice was his father's, there was no doubt about that, but it had come from her. He looked up at the sky again. It was as if Book was looking down at him.

"Mal. You have forgotten me."

"No," Mal said, speaking to the stars, glancing at River, too overwhelmed to really question what was happening. "How could I?"

"You have forgotten who you are. And we are part of each other, so you have forgotten me."

"Father," Mal said. "I could never…I've been so lost. I don't know what to do."

"Look inside yourself, Mal," Book's voice said again. Now, it didn't seem as if he was coming from River. His voice hit Mal from every angle, as if the man was everywhere, up in the stars that created his face, in the grasses that leaned sideways with the wind, in the girl on the rock, in Mal himself. "You are more than what you have become. You must take your place on Serenity."

"I can't go back," Mal said. "I'm…I'm not what I once was."

"Remember who you are," Book said. "You are my son. You are the one true captain. Remember, my son."

The stars began to shift, moving back toward their old positions.

"_Remember."_

The winds slowed down.

"_Remember."_

Mal heard the voice shrink and fade, and the hollow feeling return. _No!_

He sank to his knees again as the early morning returned to normal. "I don't know how…"

Mal jumped again as River dropped down in front of him. "You wanted to be captain," she said matter of factly.

"I did."

"You wanted to be, but you forgot." She smiled, putting a hand on his forehead to draw his head up to face her. "But now, now you can remember who you are."

"I…" Mal looked at her. "What just _happened?"_

"He lives in you," River said. "He's alive because he's in us. All this time. In me, in Zoe, in Inara…" She smiled. "You won't be alone. He won't leave you now that you've let him in. Unless you push him out."

"Going back means I'll have to face my past," Mal said. "I been running from it fors a long time."

River slapped Mal across the face, knocking him off balance. "_Aiya_! What was that for?"

River shrugged. "It's in the past. Why does it matter?"

"Doesn't change that it left a mark," Mal said, putting a hand to his cheek.

"The past can do that," River said. "It can hurt, it can scar us. It's our choice whether to run from it or learn from it." She lunged at Mal again, and he heaved himself in the other direction, both of them getting a faceful of mud.

River didn't seem to care. She jumped up, pointing down at him. "You see!" Mal pulled himself up. "So," she said. "What are you going to do, Tightpants?"

Mal stood silently for a moment, and then spun on his heel, sprinting back toward the trees.

"Hey!" River shouted, jumping up onto the rock again. "Why are you running?"

A grin came over her face, exhilaration shooting through her body as she felt Mal's words before he said them. She mouthed them right along with him.

"_I'm going back!"_

* * *

"Talk about a long night," Jayne said, fumbling for the keys to the compound.

"I'm sure it went quite quickly for _them_," Universe grumbled. "Time flies when you're having fun, after all."

"Hey, I'm the grumpy one in this partnership," Jayne said, locating the keys.

"I told you already, those two are going to fall in love and then he won't have no time for us anymore!"

"I know, I know," Jayne said. "But our Mal? No time for us?"

He twisted the key, and the door gave its affirming beap, sliding open…

…to reveal a woman standing facing them, just inside the door.

Universe and Jayne both started, the former leaping into the air with a yelp. Jayne caught him and they stumbled back a few feet.

"Whoa! Whoa!" the woman said, holding up her hands. "_Whoa, it's okay!_ It's me."

Jayne dropped Universe, who began advancing on Inara warningly. "_Don't_ ever do that again!" He looked back at Jayne. "Companions – _oy_!"

"I'm glad you came back when you did," Inara said, "have you guys seen Mal?"

"Hold on," Jayne said. "If I remember correctly…he was with you."

"He was," Inara said, looking annoyed. "He was, we…now I can't find him. Do you know where he might be?"

"Oh, you won't find him here!"

All three of them jumped this time. Inara, facing the opposite way from the others, saw the girl first. "River?"

"You won't find him here," she repeated.

"River," Inara said, walking cautiously toward the girl. "Where is he?"

River smiled. "The captain has returned."

Inara's eyes widened. "You mean…" She glanced back to Universe and Jayne. "He's gone back!" She looked back…but River was gone.

"What do you mean he's gone back?" Universe asked.

"Yeah, he ain't here!" Jayne said, gesturing to the pod.

"Mal's gone back to challenge Atherton."

"Who?"

"Atherton. Atherton Wing."

"Who has wings?"

"No no," Inara said, shaking her head. "The apprentice."

"Mal's an apprentice?"

"_No_." Inara stepped toward them. "Mal's father died. We thought Mal was dead too, so the ship's apprentice, Atherton, became Captain. Mal's gone back to challenge him, to take his rightful place as Capain."

Universe and Jayne looked at each other, and then back to Inara. "_Oh._"


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far!**

* * *

Six ships remained.

Mal half expected his jaw to drag in the dirt, he was so horrified at the site before him. He'd seen Serenity as he approached in Inara's shuttle, but hoped it'd just been his imagination. The shock had distracted him, landing the shuttle roughly into the sand a few hundred yards from the ship, lopsided and stuck.

He crawled out, dropped to the ground, and slowly began to walk toward his old home, his eyes wide, the ship looking so much less powerful with three quarters of its fleet missing. Mal's eyes narrowed, anger stirring up, his body temperature rising.

"Isn't it horrible?"

Mal turned around, surprised to see Inara coming toward. "It's…I didn't want to believe you. I'd always assumed…"

"That it would just be okay?"

Mal sighed. "Yeah." He shook his head, then regarded her curiously. "You're breathing hard."

"Some _hwoon dahn_ stole my shuttle. We had to run all the way…" Inara trailed off when she noticed the missing transport half buried in the sand. She looked back to Mal. "How did you…?"

"I can't believe I left," Mal said, shaking his head. "I can't believe I deserted Serenity to this _kuh-ooh duh lao bao jurn_."

"What's important is you're here to take her back."

"Yeah, but…" he shook his head. "All the people on those ships…"

"They're beyond our help now," Inara said. "But we can save everyone else. And we can call back those that fled, if…if they made it, they'd return if you were there."

"We?" Mal said, a small smile coming over his face.

"You can't do this alone," she said, smiling, tipping her head teasingly, "you can't even land my shuttle properly."

Mal laughed. "Hey now, I…"

"I see nothing funny about this."

Mal and Inara turned around. "Universe…Jayne…" Mal stammered. "What are you doing here?"

Jayne bowed dramatically. "At your service, my liege."

"So what are we looking at here?" Universe asked. "Not all that much to be impressed with s'far as I can see."

Mal looked back out toward Serenity. "This ship is my home."

"Doesn't look like much," Jayne said.

"She'll fool you," Inara and Mal said in unison. They raised their eyebrows at each other in pleasant surprise.

"Well," Universe said, slapping Mal on the back. "If it's important to you, we're with you to the end."

Mal smiled at them, then turned back to look upon the ship.

* * *

As the quartet got closer, it became evident that there was considerable activity at Serenity's main entrance.

"Oh no," Mal said quietly.

"What?" Universe asked.

"They've done another salvage," Inara told him. "And then there were five."

"_Wuh de ma_," Jayne said in disbelief.

"What's your plan for getting onto the ship?" Universe asked.

"I'm…I'm still working on that."

"What you need's a diversion," Jayne said. "I say 'Nara gets naked."

Three heads turned toward the large man. Mal raised an eyebrow. Universe raised two. Inara blinked. "No."

Jayne shrugged. "I could get naked."

"_No_!"

Jayne looked surprised at the unified fierceness with which the group responded to his latest suggestion.

"What about going in from the side?" Inara suggested. "Since we don't have use of the shuttle…"

"Hey, mind holdin' off on givin' me a hard time about that until this little situation is resolved?"

"_Since_ we don't have use of the shuttle," Inara repeated, "we could enter the ship from the spot where it attaches. I know the emergency code."

"Won't that drain the ship of oxygen?"

"Jayne," Universe said. "We're in atmosphere."

"I'm just saying, you get into that sort of careless habit and next thing ya know…"

The two of them trailed off upon realizing they were alone, then darted off after the others.

* * *

They found Mal and Inara at the base, the companion standing on his shoulders. Her arms were extended, but they still fell several inches short of the next platform.

"Oh brother," Jayne said, jogging over. "Get down, get down."

"Jayne, kinda in the middle of something here," Mal said dismissively.

"Can't reach it," Inara said, frustrated. She stepped away from Mal and dropped to the ground. "Maybe if we all…oh!"

Jayne had come behind Inara, put his hands on her waist, and tossed her in the air. Though surprised, the companion's reflexes were quick enough to grab hold of the platform and hoist herself up against Serenity, just a few feet under the wing.

"Universe," Jayne said. The two of them netted their hands for Mal to step on, and they heaved him up. He reached considerably less altitude than Inara had, but she'd dropped to her stomach and grabbed his hand, her ankles hooked around one of the temporary rings she and Nandi had attached to entice Reavers – they'd break away if something much stronger than a couple of people held on, thwarting an attack. In this case, they served the purpose of hauling Mal up onto the same tiny platform that Inara stood on.

"If I stand on your shoulders, I can get up onto the wing," Inara said. "Then I can pull you up. But what about them?"

"We'll run around to the front," Jayne said. "Start a ruckus if it looks like they're drawing their attention to this area." He turned to Universe. "Ready for some thrilling heroics?"

Inara pulled herself up onto the wing and hauled Mal along with her. "Huh," he said.

"What?"

"This space looks bigger when you're inside a shuttle," he said, staring into the gap that usually held Nandi's home.

"Come on," she said, walking inside and locating the rusty dial.

"Atherton's birthday?" Mal questioned as she began to punch in the code.

"Yours," Inara said. "He doesn't know these panels exist. And since your ceremony was actually the day after you were born, since you came in the night, the public date of birth is different than your actual one. So your mother figured no one would guess it."

There was a beep, and suddenly Mal was hit with the familiar sights and smells of his old home. Things were different – even from what he could see the ship was in disrepair, and he could almost sense the tension in the air – but even with the changes, it was so achingly familiar he'd almost forgotten, for a moment, that he'd ever been gone.

"Do you have a plan yet, Mister Reynolds?" Inara asked him.

Mal looked at her and took a breath. "Find our mothers, and anyone else who'd be good in a fight." He turned to face forward. "I'll look for Atherton."


End file.
